RICHMOND—Pesticides need to be disposed of carefully, and Virginia Farm Bureau Federation is encouraging its farmers and homeowners to participate in the 2022 Virginia Pesticide Collection Program.

The program collects unwanted, outdated or banned pesticides, at no cost to eligible participants, and disposes of them in a safe manner.

“This free program really benefits farmers and homeowners who have unwanted pesticides on their property and don’t know how to safely get rid of them,” noted Tony Banks, VFBF senior assistant director of agriculture, development and innovation. “This is a simple way to make sure these chemicals are disposed of properly.”

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Office of Pesticide Services, with participation from Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, oversees the program. VDACS has collected and destroyed more than 1.5 million pounds of outdated and unwanted pesticides since its inception. The program is funded through pesticide product registration fees collected by OPS.

VDACS divides Virginia into five regions and each year conducts a collection in a different region. Once all five regions have been served, the program starts another cycle.

Participants must transport their unwanted pesticides to central collection sites within the service area. If participants cannot safely container the unwanted pesticides for transport, VDACS may arrange assistance on a case-by-case basis. Only pesticides will be accepted. Pesticide-contaminated material like pesticide-contaminated fertilizer will not be accepted as part of the collection program. In addition, the program does not accept motor oil, paint, fuel, fertilizer or other chemicals.

The following is a list of the 2022 collection sites and schedule. All locations are open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Aug. 9—Southern States, 5784 Valley Pike, Stephens City
Aug. 10— CFC Farm & Home Center, 15172 Brandy Road, Culpeper
Sept. 6—CFC Farm & Home Center, 12645 Lee Hwy., Sperryville
Sept. 7—Rockingham County Fairgrounds, 4808 South Valley Pike, Harrisonburg
Sept. 8—Ivy Materials Utilization Center, 4576 Dick Woods Road, Charlottesville
Oct. 11—Page Cooperative Farm Bureau, 127 Big Oak Road, Luray
Oct. 12—Madison County Fairgrounds, 1015 Fairground Road, Madison
Oct. 13—Rockbridge Farmers’ Coop., 33 Yellow Rail Lane, Lexington

Participants need to complete a pesticide collection registration form prior to the scheduled collection date and return the completed form to ops.enf@vdacs.virginia.gov or mail to Office of Pesticide Services, VDACS, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond Virginia 23218. The form is available at vdacs.virginia.gov/pdf/disposalregistration.pdf or by contacting the program at 804-371-6560.

Media: Contact Mike Wallace, VDACS communications director, at 804-786-1904.