5-20 IAN Pesticide Disposal

 I have had the misfortune of living in some big cities such as Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles. I only say misfortune because compared to cities in Idaho which are beautiful, big cities can’t compare. One of the things that used to drive me crazy was watching people dispose of motor oil and other toxic substances down streetside storm drains that are designed for runoff rainwater.

 Idaho agricultural producers, dealers, applicators and homeowners who were storing unusable pesticides recently had a safe, legal and free opportunity to dispose of them when the Idaho State Department of Agriculture conducted  pesticide disposal collections throughout the state.  Question. Did anyone take advantage of the program? Here is Idaho’s state Department of Agriculture spokesperson Victor Mason: “One of the benefits to the program is illegal dumps. Since the program started, illegal pesticide dumps have gone to almost zero. We haven’t had an investigation into any of those kinds of dumps for many years which shows that the program does work. The main thing is that most people will never ever do that, they will just sit there and hold it and think about how they can safely dispose of it. That’s one of the reasons that the program has been such a success.”