Storing and Disposing of Insecticides
The United States government has been a strong advocate of storing and disposing of unused pesticides in a safe and proper manner. Unfortunately they are all talk and no do. There are few government programs at the federal, state, or local level designed to help homeowners deal with disposing of chemical pesticides properly. The storing part is easy. Storage of pesticides should not allow the liquids to freeze or reach a temperature above 100 degrees. Most important those products should NEVER be located or stored within reach of small children.
To dispose of pesticides you should be able to take them to a relatively close county agency and let them burn or dispose of the material according to good science. This is seldom an option. To deal with the disposal problem, we suggest you go to your local county commissioner and ask his or her secretary for help. She or he always knows more than the elected person does. If she does not know of any government program to help with the disposal of pesticides, then we suggest you wrap them in several layers of newspapers and dispose of them through the normal waste pickup system in your community. You might feel a bit of guilty, but we say, hey! We can only do as much as we can only do!!!!
