A free service offered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service, and the Virginia Pesticide Control Board will dispose of harmful pesticides at no cost to residents and businesses in their southside service area, according to a recent article in the Progress-Index.

The program assists agricultural producers, licensed pesticide dealers and pest control firms, golf courses and homeowners with the proper disposal of unwanted pesticides. The program is available at no cost to eligible participants. 

To administer the Pesticide Disposal Program, Virginia is subdivided into 5 regions. A pesticide disposal program is conducted annually in localities within each of the regions. Once all 5 regions have been served, the program will start another cycle. The Southside region is being serviced by the program for the remainder of 2009.

Participants should complete a pesticide disposal registration form ahead of time and return the completed form to VDACS, PO Box 1163, Richmond VA 23218. The form is available online, or by contacting Pesticide Disposal Program at (804) 786-3798.

"The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Virginia Pesticide Control Board invite farmers, pesticide dealers, pest control firms, homeowners and golf courses to participate in the 2009 pesticide disposal program, which collects unwanted, outdated, or banned pesticides and disposes of them in a safe manner. VDACS, through its Office of Pesticide Services, provides this service at no cost to participants in the designated localities.

The program is funded through pesticide product registration fees collected by OPS.

Since its inception, Virginia's Pesticide Disposal Program has collected and destroyed nearly 1.5 million pounds of outdated and unwanted pesticides, completely eliminating the environmental threat they could have posed."

Read full story.