CHEMSWEEP Pesticide Disposal Program
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- Map of Participating Counties
- Registration Form
- CHEMSWEEP Waste Pesticide Disposal Program Fact Sheet
The CHEMSWEEP waste pesticide collection program is designed to provide all citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with a means to dispose of cancelled, suspended, or unwanted pesticide products.
Each year, many pesticide products are cancelled by the manufacturer or phased out of operations, leaving growers and applicators with quantities of potentially dangerous and toxic materials. In addition, many commercial establishments, farmers and homeowners have unwanted and/or unusable pesticides. Due to the nature of these potentially hazardous materials, often limited options are available for responsible management. The high cost of disposal prohibits many users from hiring professionals to dispose of these materials and also postponing such disposal decisions until a more cost effective means becomes available. The waste pesticides may then become a safety hazard and environmental liability through long-term storage in barns, garages, or other areas in and around the home.
Environmental liability and health and safety issues are the primary concerns. The liability may also manifest itself as a high hidden cost during the clean-up and removal of these pesticides in the event of the transfer or sale of the property. By participating in this program, a user can legally dispose of waste pesticides at no cost. Approximately 90 percent of the waste pesticides collected are burned in EPA approved incinerators. The remaining pesticides are either offered for recycling or are treated and placed in hazardous waste landfills permitted by EPA.
CHEMSWEEP has grown from the collection of a modest 30,000 pounds of pesticides from six counties in 1993, to a program that has served over 4,000 Pennsylvanians and collected over 1.7 million pounds of waste pesticides. Growers, homeowners and licensed pesticide businesses in selected Pennsylvania counties are eligible for CHEMSWEEP each year. The PA map identifies the counties (Adams, Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Cumberland, Erie, Fulton, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Luzerne, Lycoming, McKean, Mifflin, Philadelphia, Tioga, and Warren) that are eligible for 2008's collections.
Participation in CHEMSWEEP is free for the first 2,000 pounds. Participants with waste pesticides exceeding 2,000 pounds will be responsible for the cost of those pesticides exceeding the 2,000 pound limit and will be direct billed by the PDA contractor. They will be billed at the price charged to PDA by the contractor which is significantly less than normal hazardous waste costs. Any pesticide or related pesticide product will be accepted in this program. However, dioxin precursors such as slivex, 2,4,5-T, and pentachlorophenol will only be accepted if these products are packaged in Labpack quantities and meet the definition of "universal waste."
Contact the Regional Office of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture or PSU County Cooperative Extension Office to receive additional information on the disposal program and any central homeowner collection events which have been scheduled in this year's counties. The registration form can now be downloaded from our web site. Fill out this form listing all of the pesticides that you would like to dispose of through CHEMSWEEP and complete all the columns. The form includes a return address and all registration forms will be verified by the PDA prior to collection of the waste pesticides.
You will either be instructed to deliver your unwanted pesticides to a central collection site or the pesticides will be collected directly from the storage location by the hazardous waste disposal company under contract by PDA. These products are classified as Universal Waste Pesticides and will be collected, transported and disposed of in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations. The final generator of these waste pesticides will be the PDA contractor who assumes all liability at the time of collection.
If you have any questions about the CHEMSWEEP program, please contact Don Gilbert at 717-772-5210, or your nearest PDA Regional Office.