Texas Agriculture Commissioner Miller, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, and hazardous waste recycler Clean Earth collaborated to host an Agricultural Pesticide Waste Collection event in Stephenville, Texas, located in Erath County. This free public event was designed to enable agriculture producers to safely dispose of unwanted pesticides and pesticide containers.

“Exposure to unused or expired pesticides can pose significant health risks to farmworkers, residents, and consumers if not disposed of correctly,” Commissioner Miller stated. “Proper disposal practices support sustainable agriculture by minimizing environmental impact. Here at TDA, we aim to provide responsible disposal of pesticides for future generations.”

According to the Department, the collection event was a success with Commissioner Miller actively participating by responsibly disposing of some of his farm's unwanted pesticides. The event saw approximately 83,373 pounds of unwanted agriculture pesticides and old pesticide containers collected from Texans across 31 counties. Some participants traveled miles across the state to dispose of their pesticide waste.

These collection events are designed as a drive-up service where individuals can drop off old, expired, or banned agricultural pesticides while remaining inside their vehicles. Pesticides must be in their original containers even if the label is absent. Unknown pesticides will be tested onsite at no cost.

“Some of these chemicals have been sitting in people’s barns for 40 or 50 years because people had no place to take them for proper disposal,” Commissioner Miller said. “We try to make safe disposal of these chemicals as easy as a trip through the drive-through.”

Long-term storage of pesticides can lead to the deterioration of pesticide containers and possible environmental damage due to containers leaking into ground waters. Improper storage can also put children and pets in danger.