Agricultural Abandoned Pesticide Program 

The Arkansas Agricultural Abandoned Pesticide Program was developed as a way for farmers to safely and properly dispose of old or unwanted pesticides.  This program is conducted in cooperation with the Arkansas State Plant Board, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, the Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.  Representatives from these agencies make up the Abandoned Pesticide Advisory Board.  The Abandoned Pesticide Advisory Board selects ten counties per year with a goal of holding at least one collection event in every county in Arkansas.  The Advisory Board uses priority watersheds as a guiding principle when selecting counties for pesticide collections.  The pesticide collections began in 2005 in Northeast Arkansas targeting the Mississippi River Delta area of Eastern Arkansas.  By the spring of 2009 at least one collection had been held in each county in Eastern Arkansas.  At the conclusion of the spring 2011 pesticide collections the Abandoned Pesticide Program has collected over 744,000 pounds of unwanted pesticides from Arkansas farmers in 55 different counties.  The pesticide collections are paid for by the pesticide manufacturers through a fee added to the registration of each agricultural pesticide registered in Arkansas.  There is no cost to the farmer and it is completely anonymous for those who wish to participate.  The table below shows the counties where pesticide collections have been held along with the total pounds from each county.