08/03/06 Cleaning Up the Pesticide (p.2)

Cleaning up the pesticides. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. Each year Ag producers use tons of pesticides. Improper disposal or long term storage of unwanted pesticides can be a threat to human and animal health, harm the natural environment or even saddle a property owner with costly financial liability. For nearly 20 years, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has provided a free disposal program that relieves residents, farmers and business owners of old, unusable or unwanted pesticide products, as well as the liability that can come from leaking containers or improper disposal. Joe Hoffman Program Coordinator for the Waste Pesticide Disposal Program. HOFFMAN: When the materials are collected by the department, we become the owner of them so no customers' names end up on any disposal manifests or documents. And if there were a transportation accident or the site that we've sent them for disposal ever had an issue, liability, superfund cleanup or whatever, the Department of Agriculture is the responsible party and we shred the inventories that come in from our customers after the event. That way if there ever were a problem down the road, some years down, the buck stops with the Department and coming back it cannot be traced back to the individual customer that came in. Deadline to sign up is Aug. 9. For more information, log onto the Washington Department of Ag's website at www.agr.wa.gov. Tomorrow, Joe Hoffman talks about recycling. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.