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Pesticide Container Collection
| Name | Roy T. Hollingsworth, Jr. | | Situation | Farmers who mix, load, and apply pesticides are responsible for practicing proper rinsing procedures of empty pesticide containers. One of the greatest problems associated with the use of pesticides is the legal disposal of empty containers. In SC it is illegal to burn or bury pesticide containers. The risk factors for improper rinsing and disposal of empty pesticide containers are contamination of the environment and human health issues. Leakage from these containers can quickly contaminate the soil and water around the well. There is also the danger of children coming in contact with pesticides when containers are left
unattended and in the open. According to Hampton County 2004 Private Pesticide Applicators License list, 208 growers have a private pesticide applicator license. | | Response | To aid our growers with properly disposing of these used plastic pesticide containers, the Hampton County Extension Office, in cooperation with the Hampton County Landfill conducted six container collections during a 5 year period. All containers brought to the collection site were inspected by a representative of the SC Department of Pesticide Regulation. Only empty, dry containers that had been triple-rinsed and contained no visible residue were accepted. In addition to being properly rinsed, the caps were removed and discarded. The Hampton County
Extension Office provided large plastic bags for the growers to put
their plastic containers in to transport them to the collection site.
One hundred eleven private pesticide applicator license holders participated in the 5 year program. Each person was awarded between (1) and (3) Continuing Credit Hour (CCH) toward renewal of their license in 2005. | | Impact | After participating in Extension programs, of the 208 growers with a private pesticide applicator license 2000-2004, 53.3% participated in the program during the 5 year block. Presently, there are 140 growers in Hampton County licensed to purchase restricted use pesticide for the next 5 years. Seventy grower licenses are still pending for renewal. If all 70 pending licenses are renewed, Hampton County pesticide private applicator
license would have increased by 1%. |
Last update6/26/2007
This website is maintained by Lisa Terry.
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