Old Chemicals and Chemical Containers

County Agent News

Dan Folske

June 28, 2010

Old Chemicals and Chemical Containers

            Project Safe Send is once again helping producers and homeowners to dispose of old or unusable herbicides, insecticides and other pesticides. This year the project is also coordinating container recycling at several of the Safe Send locations.   

The program accepts any pesticides (i.e. herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides and fungicides) that are old, unusable or banned and is open to the public including farmers, ranchers, pesticide dealers and applicators, government agencies and homeowners.  After the collections, hazardous pesticides are carefully packed and shipped out of state for incineration.  Project Safe Send is funded through the fees paid by pesticide manufacturers to register their products in North Dakota. 

Please check your storage areas for any unusable pesticides and set them aside for Project Safe Send.  In the meantime, keep pesticides locked up safely. If you have deteriorating or leaking containers, over pack them in larger containers and add absorbent materials.  Free heavy-duty plastic bags are available from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture. 

People with more than 1,000 pounds of pesticides should preregister.  No other preregistration is required. A maximum of 20,000 pounds of pesticide per participant will be accepted.  Pesticide rinse water also will be accepted at any of the 12 collection sites. The first 100 pounds of rinse water will be taken free of charge; a fee will be applied for each additional pound. 

If you would like preregister over 1,000 pounds of pesticides, receive heavy duty plastic bags or have questions about Project Safe Send, please call Jessica Johnson at the North Dakota Department of Agriculture at (800) 242-7535 or jnjohnson@nd.gov .   

            If you have empty containers for recycling remember that they must be triple rinsed or pressure rinsed, and the lids and labels must be removed. In northwestern North Dakota containers for recycling will be accepted at the Minot site on July 12^th.  The location is at the North Dakota Department of Transportation facility just north of the John Deere dealership on the east side of Highway 2. 

            Pesticides of any type can be disposed of through Project Safe Send.