The Arkansas Department of Agriculture announced on Apr. 7 that its Abandoned Pesticide Program collected 242,015 pounds of unwanted pesticides during recent events in Clay, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Jackson, and White counties. Since the program began in 2005, more than 7.2 million pounds have been safely removed.
The collection events aim to provide farmers and landowners with a safe way to dispose of old or unused pesticides while protecting natural resources. The service is offered at no cost to non-industrial landowners and is funded through pesticide registration fees. According to the department’s official website, it manages an agricultural sector contributing over $24.3 billion annually with about 37,400 farms across roughly 13.7 million acres.
“The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is proud to work with our partners in administering the Agricultural Abandoned Pesticide Program,” said Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward. “These collection events provide farmers and landowners with a safe, efficient way to dispose of pesticides they no longer need while protecting Arkansas’s natural resources.” Corey Seats, Plant Industries Division Director, said: “These collection events provide an important service to producers across Arkansas, and we’re committed to working with partners statewide to ensure they operate efficiently. This effort plays a vital role in supporting our state’s largest industry.”
Commonly collected items include outdated chemicals such as calcium arsenate and sodium cyanide as well as registered products like glyphosate that are unusable due to exposure or age. The department reports that similar events have taken place in all 75 counties so far; tentative plans for fall collections will serve Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Scott and Sebastian counties.
The program operates alongside organizations including the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and the Arkansas Farm Bureau. The department also oversees funding for research and market development for commodities such as rice and soybeans according to its official website. It promotes access to safe water supplies for economic development and public health according to its official website, maintains reforestation efforts through the Baucum Nursery according to its official website, honors forest management achievements annually according to its official website, serves as a resource conservation agency according to its official website, manages agriculture along with forestry programs addressing water planning and wildfire protection according to its official website.
Broader implications include ongoing support for sustainable practices within agriculture statewide.
