HD36 - Farmers Clean Day in Virginia
Executive Summary: The 1990 session of the Virginia General Assembly passed a resolution directing the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to study the progress of the proposed Farmers Clean Day in Virginia in the collection and safe disposal of outdated and surplus pesticides. A Farmers Clean Day pilot project was developed and implemented in three Virginia counties, Clarke, Frederick and Northumberland, in June, 1990. The pilot project was a cooperative effort of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Cooperative Extension Service (CES), Virginia Department of Waste Management (DWM), Division of Consolidate Laboratory Services (DCLS) and local government. A total of 31,797 pounds of agricultural pesticides was collected for disposal from 69 agricultural producers in the three counties. The direct cost of collecting, packing, transporting and disposing the material was $158,977. This amount represents only the direct costs paid to the contractor for packing, transport and ultimate disposal of the wastes. It does not include VDACS staff, CES, or DCLS costs. The pilot project clearly demonstrated that given adequate funding, personnel resources and the cooperation of several state agencies and local government, a pesticide disposal program can be safely carried out in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Recommendations • A statewide inventory of pesticide wastes to determine the amounts, types and locations of outdated, banned and surplus pesticides in the state should be conducted. (VDACS has funded a research proposal to complete this task.) • A phased 3- to 4-year program for the disposal of pesticide wastes statewide should be implemented beginning in 1991. • VDACS should seek alternative sources of funding and consider all funding options to support future pesticide disposal efforts in the Commonwealth. |
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