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Follow These Safe Practices with Pesticide Disposal | Savvy Gardening: Garden Ideas, Tips, Pictures, and More

Feb 09 2007

Follow These Safe Practices with Pesticide Disposal

Published by Jennifer at 10:47 pm under Pest Control

It is always best if possible to use up any pesticides that you have on hand. If you do not have a use for the pesticides any longer, check with a friend or neighbor and see if they want your remaining product. Of course, you or anyone else using the pesticides should always carefully follow the directions on the product for proper usage instructions.

If the pesticide that you have left over can not be used according to the directions on the product, talk with your local solid waste management authority, environmental agency, or health department. They can tell you if your community has a household hazardous waste collection program or similar resources for disposing of unwanted, leftover pesticides. These same authorities should also be able to make you aware of any local necessities for pesticide waste disposal.

You can find your local solid waste agency, by looking in the government section of your phone book under categories such as solid waste, public works, or garbage, trash, or refuse collection.

If you have an empty container that held pesticides, do not reuse the container. Unless the label contains specific disposal instructions, simply throw the container in the garbage.

Never pour remaining pesticides down a sink, toilet, sewer or street drain. This is because some pesticides can potentially hinder the function of wastewater treatment systems or pollute waterways. A large number of municipal systems are not outfitted to remove all pesticide residues. Therefore, if pesticides reach waterways, they run the risk of harming fish, plants, and other living things.

Before you dispose of a container that held pesticide products, rinse the item very well. This will aid in reducing environmental pollution caused by the open dumping of unwanted containers.

Another disposal procedure that is beneficial in disposing of pesticide is known as triple rinsing. Most of the time, triple-rinsing leaves used pesticide containers (metal, plastic, and glass) more than 99.9 percent free of residues. There has been data taken that shows that more than 78 percent of containers that held pesticides are now being rinsed by farmers.

When triple rinsing, there are certain steps that should be followed to achieve the maximum benefit of the procedure. First of all, empty the contents of the container into the spray tank and drain in a vertical position for 30 seconds. Next, add a measured amount of rinse water or another dilutant ensuring the container is about one-fifth full. Rinse the container very well and then pour the rinsate into the spray tank. This should be repeated two times. Containers that have been triple rinsed should be punctured or broken so that they can not be used again. Before disposing, paper bags that held pesticides should be rinsed one time.

Pressure rinsers are also used by some to clean containers that once held pesticides. Pressure rinsers are useful for rinsing all sizes of empty pesticide containers that can be lifted into position over the spray tank. Using a pressure rinser for thirty seconds is very handy and is found to be just as efficient as triple rinsing.

Pressure rinsers are made to be pushed into the bottom of a metal can or plastic jug. Holes, positioned laterally in the rinser tip, aim water from a pressurized source against the internal sides of the container and efficiently wash the remaining pesticide into the spray tank.

A number of farmers find it suitable to attach a rinser to the pump on their large water storage tank. This reduces the amount of times that a container once holding pesticides has to be handled.Â Pressure rinsers also have the additional benefit of leaving post pesticide containers useless by puncturing them automatically.