| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Levi Ostberg |
| August 23, 2007 | (406) 444-5400 |
Pesticide Disposal Program will Target Eastern Montana
HELENA, Mont. — Pesticide users who have old insecticides, herbicides, rodent poisons or fungicides lying around unused can dispose of them this September at four locations in Eastern Montana.
The Montana Department of Agriculture will hold its annual waste pesticide collection in Glasgow on September 11, in Sidney on September 12, in Miles City on September 13 and in Billings on September 14. This nonregulatory, service program enables agricultural producers, businesses and other pesticide users to dispose of unusable chemicals safely, economically and conveniently.
“Old pesticides that are neglected or in poor storage conditions can expose children, livestock and pets, causing them serious injury or death.” says Joel Clairmont, acting director of the Montana Department of Agriculture.
The longer a pesticide is held in storage, the greater the risk of spillage, potentially causing injury to people or contamination of the environment. Containers can corrode and leak. Fire or flooding can cause releases that contaminate soils and groundwater, requiring costly cleanup.
Unusable pesticides are those that cannot be applied because the registration has been canceled, such as DDT, EDB, dinoseb, chlordane, endrin, mercury or diazinon. The program also accepts products that cannot be used because of product age, storage conditions, or loss of label.
Fertilizers, motor oils, solvents and paints cannot be accepted at the pesticide collections.
Participants are required to pre-register so that the program can be operated safely, efficiently and with a minimum of congestion at the collection sites. Directions to the sites and the time for participants to arrive will be mailed to you after pre-registration forms are received. Pre-registration forms must be returned by Tuesday, September 4th.
Information about the safe transportation of the pesticides to the collection site will be provided.
The program has a fee of $1 per pound for the first 200 pounds and 50 cents per pound for additional amounts over 200 pounds. Disposal by other services can cost 5 to 10 times more.
Additional information and registration forms are available by contacting Levi Ostberg in Helena at (406) 444-5400; by mail at Montana Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Disposal Program, P.O. Box 200201, Helena, MT 59620-0201; or by e-mail at lostberg@mt.gov.
Additional information is available by clicking on the pesticide disposal button on the Department website found online at http://agr.mt.gov.
