Department Announces Pesticide Disposal Program for 2021

Free program allows farmers to safely dispose of unwanted, unusable pesticide products

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) today announced that it will reconstitute its Pesticide Disposal Program. This free program allows farmers across the state to safely and properly dispose of any unwanted or unusable agricultural pesticides. The Pesticide Disposal Program is run in partnership with the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) and University of Maryland Extension (UME).

“The Pesticide Disposal Program provides a great opportunity to properly dispose of any old or unwanted pesticides at no cost to the farmer,” said Secretary Joe Bartenfelder. “This is an important tool as we continue our commitment to protecting our natural resources from potentially hazardous materials.”

The Pesticide Disposal Program is open to current or retired farmers and producers, including orchardists, nurserymen, greenhouse operators and Christmas tree growers. MDA will collect any product with a registration number from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and any other material that can be identified as a pesticide. The program will accept applications from March 15 – September 15, 2021. Applications are available for download on the program’s website.

After reviewing applications, MDA inspectors will schedule a site visit to verify information. Any unknown/unidentified materials will be tested by MDA to ensure proper and safe handling. Once the program has a complete inventory of materials that need to be disposed, MDA will contract a licensed hazardous waste hauler to collect the pesticide materials directly from the storage site and transport to an EPA-approved disposal facility. Pickups are expected to begin in October 2021. 

MDA’s Pesticide Disposal Program was first introduced in 1995, and was last conducted in 2011. The program has collected nearly 190,000 pounds of unusable or unwanted pesticide from 385 sites since its inception. Funding for the program comes from licensing, certification, and registration fees collected from pesticide businesses, certified applicators, and pesticide manufacturers and registrants. 

For more information on the Pesticide Disposal Program, please contact MDA’s Pesticide Regulation Section at (410) 841-5710, or visit the program’s website.

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