Hugh Weathers, South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, has announced that the Waste Pesticide Recovery Program is now moving into the Upstate.
Old, outdated, unusable or unwanted pesticides will be collected from farmers, foresters, nurserymen, and landowners from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday — Thursday, Feb. 3-5 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday, Feb. 10-12, and from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
“Phase I of our collection program began with selected sites in the lower part of the state. We are now moving to the Anderson and Gramling areas next week and Newberry and Chester the following week,” said Commissioner Weathers. “In the first two weeks of the recovery program this fall,” he said, “we collected over 180,000 pounds of pesticides.” A fully permitted waste collection vendor is removing these pesticides from farms and disposing them in a safe and proper manner. There is no charge for this service and registration is not required. All information associated with this program is confidential.
The South Carolina Department of Agriculture secured state and federal funds to administer this much needed program. “I appreciate the assistance of partners such as the South Carolina Farm Bureau and farm suppliers in helping make this happen,” Commissioner Weathers said.
All agricultural pesticides, labeled or not, may be brought to one of the sites on the dates designated.
Pesticides include insecticides, herbicides, nematicides, fungicides and other similar products used in commercial agricultural production. No fertilizers, household chemicals, compressed cylinders or empty containers will be accepted.
Participants are urged to bring all materials to the site in the safest manner possible. Enclose all loose materials or leaking containers in plastic bags. If special circumstances exist that require pickup on site, contact Larry Boyleston, assistant commissioner, South Carolina Department of Agriculture, 803-734-2191, or lboylest@scda.sc.gov to make arrangements.
The program also includes an education component to provide information on proper management, handling and use of pesticides.
