Clean Sweep Programs - US Environmental Protection Agency

Summary of Nebraska Waste Pesticide Disposal ProgramNebraska benefitted from a one time grant of $744,000 from EPA from a budget of several milliondollars that EPA had allocated to dispose of pesticides ruined or adulterated by the 1993 floods. Workingwith extension educators, local weed districts, natural resource districts and often directly with chemicaldistributors and dealers, the State publicized the 1995 collection by sending out over 130,000 letters, andpublishing more than 150 articles in farm magazines and newspapers across the state. The first formreceived reported that the farmer had 700 pounds of DDT to turn in, and later, another farmer turned in6,000 pounds. Clean Harbors won the disposal contract. Most of the products collected were canceledpesticides such as chlordane or 2,4,5-T.Nebraska has collected pesticide containers since 1992. During the first year, 8,000 containerswere collected at two sites, and the program steadily grew to a collection of 135,000 containers at 55 sitesin 1998. The program is self-supporting and has been run since its inception by Dr. Larry Schulze, anExtension Pesticide Coordinator at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. In 1996, tighter regulations onaccepting plastic containers at Nebraska landfills led to greater interest in recycling.Nebraska Table 1 - Quantity of Pesticides CollectedYear Quantity of Pesticides (pounds) Program Cost Average Cost (per pound)1995 595,541 $744,000 $1.251998 297,701 no data NA1999 249,065 no data NA2000 193,726 $252,020 $1.30TOTAL 1,336,033 NA NAInformation on the number of participants is not available.NA = not applicable