Pesticide disposal Thursday

Purcell will be one of two Oklahoma towns where unwanted pesticide chemicals can be properly disposed.

The Oklahoma Unwanted Pesticide Disposal program will provide drop-off sites for commercial and noncommercial applicators, pesticide dealers, farmers, ranchers and homeowners to bring up to 2,000 pounds of pesticides for proper disposal at no charge.

The event will be held today (Thursday) from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the McClain County Fairgrounds, 1721 Hardcastle Blvd.

The other town is Claremore with that event at the Claremore Expo Center, 400 Veteran Parkway also from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 27.

Oklahoma State University Extension associate with the OSU Pesticide Safety Education Program Charles Luper said the arrangement, which is funded by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF), has been successful since it was launched in 2006.

“In the last 15 years this program has collected nearly 999,005 pounds of unwanted pesticides,” Luper reported. “What this means is nearly 500 tons of chemicals have been kept out of landfills, storm drains, lakes and streams.

“This program also kept these chemicals from being put in illegal dump sites along country roads. This is a positive thing for the environment and reduces health and environmental concerns,” Luper continued.

Unwanted pesticides are classified as those chemicals that become unusable as originally intended for a variety of reasons, including leftover pesticides, pesticides that are no longer registered in Oklahoma and pesticides that no longer have labels or cannot be identified.

ODAFF has contracted with Clean Earth, a licensed hazardous waste company, to collect and properly dispose of waste pesticides. Pesticide dealers are asked to preregister through the OSU Pesticide Safety Education Program. Applicators and agricultural producers are not required to preregister.

Paint, batteries, oil or fertilizer will not be accepted.

Participants will need to safely transport their pesticides to one of the collection sites. Pickup services are not available.

For more information, visit the OSU Pesticide Safety Education Program website or contact Luper at 405-744-5808.