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Ohio Farmers Get One Chance A Year To Safely Dispose Of Unused Pesticides For Free

Brady Smith is a Rural Specialist at the Butler County Soil and Water Conservation District. He says at least 30 farmers have contacted him about the pesticide drop-off event.
Chloe Murdock
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Brady Smith is a Rural Specialist at the Butler County Soil and Water Conservation District. He says at least 30 farmers have contacted him about the pesticide drop-off event.

On Tuesday, Aug. 24, farmers will be able to drop off unused, expired or recalled pesticides at the Butler County Fairgrounds. A Butler County rural specialist says farmers who safely get rid of these pesticides can prevent them from entering the air or local waterways.

Once a year, The State of Ohio collects old pesticides from farmers — but it happens in just three locations. This year, Butler County is one of them. The drive-through event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. this coming Tuesday.

Brady Smith is a rural specialist for the county’s Soil and Conservation District. He helps farmers adopt conservation practices on their land. Smith says that disposing of these chemicals the right way prevents them from leaking into places they shouldn’t.

“It could prevent improper disposal, whether it could enter the atmosphere that way or running off into water bodies," Smith said. "Just keeping them from places that they shouldn’t be.”

Farmers can drop off unused weed-killing herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides. None of these are safe to put in regular household garbage, since trash dumps can leak.