Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
Collection sites take old, outdated and banned pesticides for disposal.
A few weeks ago, the N.C. Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program achieved a milestone by collecting its 3 millionth pound of pesticides since its beginning in 1980. This week, Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda talk more about this program.
Back in 1980, North Carolina was the first state in the country to have a pesticide disposal program. Troxler says that even today, there are a lot of states that don’t have this type of program. It’s a worthwhile program, he says, especially when you consider that it’s been illegal to dispose of pesticides in landfills in North Carolina since 1976.
The program doesn’t charge anything, so it’s an affordable and environmentally acceptable option for any homeowner, farmer or institution to properly dispose of unwanted or unusable pesticides.
The program is paid for through the Pesticide Environmental Trust Fund. This trust fund receives money from registration fees that companies pay on each pesticide product sold in the state and through an appropriation from the General Assembly.
The NCDA&CS Structural Pest Control and Pesticides Division partners with Cooperative Extension offices in counties across the state to hold collection days. The collections are rotated through all 100 counties so that each county has a collection day every other year.
To find a schedule of upcoming collection days, click here.
Click on the audio player below to listen to Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda discuss the Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program.
[Audio:http://info.ncagr.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Troxler_5-6.mp3|titles=Today’s Topic for May 6]
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