Waste Pesticide Program

Mission Statement:  To collect and properly dispose of cancelled, suspended or otherwise unusable pesticides and minimize further accumulation through education and outreach.

• Waste Pesticide Program Overview
• Apply for Free Pesticide Disposal
• View or Print out Blank Pesticide Inventory Form
• View or Print out Pesticide Inventory Instructions and sample inventory form
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Contact Information

Photo Gallery

• Waste Pesticide Collection Events
• Unsafe / Illegal Storage
• Illegal Dumping
• Plastic Pesticide Container Recycling

Links and Other Resources

• Empty Plastic Pesticide Container Recycling Program
• Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction and Prevention
• Earth 911 website
• Ag Container Recycling Council(ACRC)

Waste Pesticide Disposal Information

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), in cooperation with local agencies, operates the Waste Pesticide Identification and Disposal Program. The Program collects unusable agricultural and commercial grade pesticides from residents, farmers, small businesses and public agencies free of charge. Events are held at locations across Washington State where customers can bring their unusable pesticides for proper disposal. The goal of this program is to properly dispose of unused or unusable pesticides to prevent human and animal exposure, prevent use of cancelled pesticides on crops and to eliminate the potential source of contamination to the environment.

The Program has changed the way it operates. Individuals can now apply any time throughout the year to participate in a collection event by submitting a completed customer inventory form to the Waste Pesticide Program. For self service, download a fillable inventory form and instructions by clicking on the following links to the inventory form inventory form and the instructions document. Once completed, email the form to WSDA at WastePesticide@agr.wa.gov.  Upon receipt of your inventory form the application process is over. A confirmation of receipt will be sent to your email address. For customers who need assistance during the application process, contact WSDA via email or telephone.

Collection events will be scheduled as needed. This schedule will be determined, in part, by the amount of applications received for a particular area. Once an event is scheduled, potential customers will be notified by Waste Pesticide Program staff and given further instructions about the collection event, time and location. 

This program only collects unusable/unwanted agricultural and commercial grade pesticides. Household Hazardous Wastes (HHW) are not accepted at WSDA collections; however, most Washington State counties have HHW programs. To find out more about disposal of other materials in your county, contact your local solid waste program or visit the Earth 911 website, enter your zip code and follow directions to determine local disposal and recycling options.

To date, the Waste Pesticide Identification and Disposal Program has safely disposed of over 2.9 million pounds of unusable pesticides from over 7,600 customers since the program was initiated in 1988. (383 lbs/customer average.)

In addition to WSDA's Waste Pesticide Identification and Disposal Program, Agri-Plas, Inc., operates a statewide plastic pesticide Container Recycling Program.  The Agricultural Container Recycling Council (ACRC) sponsors a national pesticide container recycling program and is an excellent source for container recycling information. The Washington State Department of Ecology's Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program provides information on reducing and preventing hazardous waste.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I qualify for this free program?
   The program is available to everyone who has unusable agricultural and commercial grade pesticides located within Washington state:  Washington residents, farmers, landowners, homeowners, business owners, renters, and public agencies.

2. What items are acceptable for disposal?
   This program accepts pesticide formulations only.  Pesticides include herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, adjuvants, and most chemicals that kill, prevent, or mitigate a pest.  WSDA cannot accept empty containers or other waste such as fertilizers, motor oils, paint, solvents, etc.  To dispose of materials other than pesticides, contact your County Solid Waste Department or your local Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) or Moderate Risk Waste (MRW) program. 
   
   Pressurized gas cylinders cannot be transported by customers to a pesticide collection event because they require special handling; however, most hand-held aerosol pesticide cans and small canisters are accepted at collection events.  WSDA arranges direct pickup of cylinders from the customer's site.

3. How do I determine whether my pesticides are unusable?
   Unusable pesticides are those which cannot be used because the registration has been canceled or suspended such as DDT, EDB, endrin, dinoseb and chlordane.  Unusable pesticides also include products that you cannot use due to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) program requirements, product age, loss of label, or the product is no longer needed (retired from farming or switched to organic production), etc.

4. Are there any costs to participate?
   No, the Program's funding is appropriated from the State Model Toxics Control Account.

5. How do I apply for disposal, is there any paperwork involved? 
   If you apply to participate in a collection event, you are required to submit information regarding the pesticides you want to dispose. This can be done by clicking on the following links to download a fillable inventory form and the instructions document.  Once completed, email the form to WSDA at WastePesticide@agr.wa.gov.  Upon receipt of your inventory form the application process is over. A confirmation of receipt will be sent to your email address.
   
   If you feel that you are not able to fill out an inventory form or are not comfortable handling the pesticides themselves, you can request on-site assistance. The information customers provide on the inventory form is used by the Program to safely plan an event. The Program uses it to screen items coming into an event, provide disposal estimates to the hazardous waste contractor, and to generate transportation documents.

6. What if I feel unsafe handling the chemicals I have?
   If you do not feel safe or are uncomfortable handling the pesticides, please contact WSDA and request on-site assistance. Upon request, WSDA will provide on-site assistance at no charge to safely inventory and overpack dangerous items and containers in poor condition (cracked, corroded or leaking). WSDA also provides clear, plastic overpack bags at no charge. In certain circumstances, WSDA will arrange collection of unusable pesticides directly from your property. 

7. What if I can't identify the chemicals I have? 
   Contact WSDA for assistance. A container with unknown contents may be the most hazardous feature on your property, especially if you have curious children or the container is leaking. WSDA may be able to help identify the contents and, if it is a pesticide, WSDA will arrange to have it removed at no cost to you. 

8. What if some of my materials are not accepted by this program?
   WSDA may be able to help you find other disposal options. Please contact WSDA for suggestions or click on Links to other Resources

9. What if I need on-farm assistance in order to become GAP compliant?
   Please contact WSDA and request on-site assistance. Agricultural crop producers can become GAP compliant without immediately disposing of their pesticides. GAP programs allow temporary on-farm storage of obsolete/unusable pesticides if they are properly stored, identified, secured and segregated from current-use pesticides. The pesticides must be documented and the inventory must be readily available for GAP inspections. WSDA recommends that containers of unwanted pesticides be overpacked in clear, 4-mil plastic bags which WSDA can provide at no charge. WSDA staff can help package and segregate the unwanted pesticides and prepare them for disposal.

10. What happens after I have applied for a pesticide collection event?
    Once the completed inventory forms are received, WSDA staff will screen them for materials that may need special handling or do not qualify under our Program. Staff will contact you at a later date to reserve a space for you in an upcoming collection event. If you have requested clear plastic bags (list on the inventory form), they are shipped to you after your inventory is processed.
    
    Approximately two weeks before the collection event, a packet will be sent to you containing a map with directions to the site, a confirmation letter with your scheduled arrival time, any necessary transportation documents and additional protective bags, if needed.
    
    On the day of the scheduled event, you, or your designee, transport your unwanted pesticide products to the collection site. Your vehicle will be unloaded by WSDA and contractor staff. After the vehicle is unloaded, you and a WSDA representative sign a Declaration of Waste Pesticide transferring ownership from you to WSDA. The signed 'Declaration' is given to you for your records. WSDA becomes the owner of the pesticide products before they are legally considered to be hazardous wastes and before they are turned over to the contractor, who packs them for safe transport and disposal. Since WSDA now owns the pesticides, your name will not appear on any waste disposal documents. The final hazardous waste shipping manifest only lists WSDA as the waste generator.
    
    

Contact Information

E-mail:   WastePesticide@agr.wa.gov

Phone:  Call toll free 1-877-301-4555, select option 1, then option 5
             Or dial (360) 902-2056

Mail:

WSDA PESTICIDE DISPOSAL PROGRAM
PO BOX 42589
OLYMPIA WA  98504-2589

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