SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) has announced the collection of over 10.5 tons of waste pesticides at this year’s pesticide waste collection events. These events are a free, statewide service UDAF provides to the agricultural community, pesticide professionals and the public.
At this year’s events, held in the Box Elder County town of Bothwell, Salt Lake City and Richfield, the pesticide waste collected included expired and otherwise unusable pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and more. Over time, packaging often degrades leading to the potential for leaks and environmental contamination.
This year in particular noted an uptick in the collection of insecticides, which usually target the nervous systems of pests and can be particularly dangerous if misused or leaked leading to potential environmental and public health concerns.
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“At these events, we’ve collected a number of materials that are unsafely packaged and oftentimes many decades old,” said UDAF Pesticide Program Manager Henry Nahalewski. “By collecting expired, noncompliant, leaky or otherwise unusable pesticides now, we’re able to prevent the pesticides of the past becoming a problem for future generations.”
UDAF would like to extend a special thanks to their partners in these events, Clean Harbors Environmental and the Utah Department of Transportation for their continued support in facilitating these successful collection efforts.
To learn more about the programs and public services provided to agricultural producers, consumers and the public by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, click here.
