The Arkansas Department of Agriculture collected 14,964 pounds of unwanted pesticides during its fall events, extending a disposal program that has removed more than 7.2 million pounds of material from Arkansas since it began in 2005.
The latest collections took place in Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Scott, Sebastian and Yell counties. The Agricultural Abandoned Pesticide Program offers the service at no charge to farmers and other nonindustrial landowners, allowing them to dispose of pesticides that are no longer wanted or cannot be used.
A statewide disposal program
Department officials said the program has held collection events in all 75 Arkansas counties. The effort is financed through pesticide registration fees rather than a collection charge to participating landowners.
The program accepts outdated pesticides as well as registered products that can no longer be used. The department described the service as a way to remove those materials through an organized collection process instead of leaving them in storage on farms and other properties.
“These collection events give farmers and landowners a responsible, convenient option for disposing of unused pesticides while helping protect Arkansas’ natural resources,” Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward said.
The program operates through a partnership involving the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, Arkansas Farm Bureau and the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment. The participating organizations have used the events to reach landowners in different parts of the state as the collection schedule moves from county to county.
Spring counties identified
Tentative plans for the next collection season call for events serving Ashley, Chicot, Desha, Drew and Lincoln counties in spring 2027. The department identified those counties as the planned service area, while the schedule remains tentative.
- 14,964 pounds were collected during the fall events.
- More than 7.2 million pounds have been removed through the program since 2005.
- Spring 2027 plans include collections in five southeast Arkansas counties.
The program’s collection total includes materials gathered over its years of operation across Arkansas. The department’s latest figures cover the fall events in the seven counties listed above and add to the statewide total accumulated since the program’s launch.
