Pre-register for pesticide disposal in Polson
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State University
BOZEMAN – Dates have been set for Montanans to dispose of pesticide wastes through the Montana Pesticide Waste Disposal Program.
Pesticides may be disposed of Sept. 17 in Polson at the Lake County Transfer Station.
Other dates and cities are Sept. 16 in Kalispell, Sept. 18 in Missoula and Sept. 19 in Bozeman.
Disposal is free for the first 200 pounds and 50 cents per pound above that for licensed private applicators, but pre-registration is required so the collection can be managed safely and efficiently, said Montana State University Pesticide Education Specialist Cecil Tharp. Participants who want to dispose of pesticides must pre-register with the Montana Department of Agriculture. They can obtain the form at: http://agr.mt.gov/agr/Business/Pesticides/Environmental/Disposal/Forms/New_Registration_Form.pdf.
They should then mail the form to Montana Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Disposal Program, P.O. Box 1054, Glasgow, MT 59230.
Applicators should use the disposal program if they have unknown pesticide products due to worn product labels, unregistered pesticide products or unusable pesticides, Tharp said. The Montana Pesticide Waste Disposal Program has collected more than 455,600 pounds since it began 20 years ago, with the most common pesticides collected being DDT, chlordane, 2,4,5-T and strychnine.
Tharp also gave advice for disposing of empty pesticide containers. He said the applicators must power-wash or triple rinse the containers, then discard the liquid (rinsate) in pesticide tanks or spray it over a site that’s listed on the pesticide product label. They should then puncture the container, so it can’t be reused.
Montana sites that will accept the empty containers are located on the map found at the bottom of this link: http://agr.mt.gov/agr/Programs/Pesticides/Environmental/ContainerRecycling. After choosing a site, applicators can arrange a drop-off time.
The Montana Department of Agriculture Pesticide Container Recycling Program has collected more than 288,000 pounds of pesticide containers in the past five years, Tharp said. Shredded plastic from these containers is recycled to create non-consumer items, such as drain tile, speed bumps, pallets and landscape edging.
Readers should contact Carli Lofing at (406) 228-9512, for additional questions, registration information and costs. For more information on the pesticide waste program, go to: http://agr.mt.gov/agr/Programs/Pesticides/Environmental/Disposal. For more information on the pesticide container recycling program, go to: http://agr.mt.gov/agr/Programs/Pesticides/Environmental/ContainerRecycling/index.html.
