Pesticide Disposal & CCA Exam

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture not only registers and monitors 12,000 pesticides it also collects and safely disposes of pesticides. WSDA's Mike Louisell explains.

LOUISELL: For a long time we've been collecting pesticides that farmers, public agencies, institutions, golf courses - many customers have wanted to get rid of pesticides that are no longer registered or practical to use.

Since 1988 the WSDA has collected over 3 million pounds of pesticides.

LOUISELL: In our most recent collection event we actually collected 1,000 pounds of DDT.

Interestingly, DDT has been banned in the U.S. for 43 years.

LOUISELL: And yet it's still out there on various properties, so we're appreciative that a farmer and other people that have DDT would bring it to our attention so that we can safely dispose of this highly toxic pesticide.

The WSDA's pesticide disposal service is free. No matter what your pesticide disposal needs are call the WSDA in Olympia at 360-902-2056 or visit their website.

Registration is open until June 26 for the next Certified Crop Adviser exam, which will be held Friday, August 7. The Washington location for the exam will be Spokane. To be eligible for the CCA certification you must take and pass both the International and local board exams. For more information visit Far West Agribusiness Association's website at fwaa.org.

That's Washington Ag Today.

I'm Lacy Gray with the Ag Information Network of the West.