Inorganic Waste Management

Checklist

Pesticide Disposal

  • If you are not able to use a pesticide according the label because it is too old and/or no longer legal to use the pesticide, it is considered hazardous waste.
  • Contact the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to find out if there are collection events planned (http://www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/waste/index.htm).
  • Contact your town administration to find out if there are pesticide disposal collection programs happening at the local or regional level.
  • Contact a Licensed Hazardous Waste Hauler.

Agricultural Plastics

  • In Massachusetts, the Department of Environmental Protection open burning regulations does not allow for the burning agricultural plastics.
  • Check with your local municipal recycling center.
  • Contact a plastic recycler company.
  • Hire a commercial waste hauler.

INORGANIC WASTE MANAGEMENT

Pesticide Disposal

Many pesticide labels will have instructions for proper disposal. If you are not able to use the pesticide according the label because it is too old and/or no longer legal to use, the pesticide is considered hazardous waste. The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources has held many subsidized collection events in the past. Also, individual communities throughout Massachusetts have annual household hazardous waste collection events. If you are not able to participate in these types of events, then you will have to contact a licensed hazardous waste hauler company.

Contact the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (http://www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/waste/index.htm) and your town administration to find out if there are pesticide disposal collection programs happening at the local or regional level

 

OR

 

Contact a Licensed Hazardous Waste Hauler. The Massachusetts Statewide Contract for Hazardous Materials Collection lists the following vendors:

  • Clean Harbors
  • Enviro-Safe Corporation
  • Medical Waste Disposal Company
  • Triumvirate Environmental Services
  • Stericycle, Inc.
  • Veolia Environmental Services Technical Solutions, LLC (formerly Onyx Environmental)

Agricultural Plastics

The term “agricultural plastics” (or “ag plastics”) covers a wide variety of products and plastic types. These include:

  • Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and low linear density polyethylene (LLDPE) film used to make silage and haylage bags, bunker silo covers, greenhouse covers, bale wrap, mulch film, and other flexible products.
  • High density polyethylene (HDPE), a more rigid plastic used in pesticide containers and nursery pots.
  • Polystyrene (PS), another rigid plastic used in nursery containers and flats.
  • Polypropylene (PP), used in nursery pots, row covers and woven tarps.

Recycling

Recycled plastics are typically chopped and washed to remove contaminants. They are then dried, melted, and formed into pellets that serve as the raw material to make garbage bags, pilings, fencing, road signs, roofing materials, and many other products.

For a successful plastic recycling program, nurseries must have an on-site system for:

  • Collecting and storing plastics.
  • Separating the plastics into different types.
  • Ensuring the recycled plastics are dry and clean.

Contact a plastic recycler company for more information. For a list of companies in the Northeast see the fact sheet “Recycling Your Used Agricultural Plastics” at http://www.umassgreeninfo.org/fact_sheets/plant_culture/recycle_ag_plast...

Disposal

In Massachusetts, the Department of Environmental Protection open burning regulations does not allow for the burning agricultural plastics. Burning plastic can release toxic and potentially cancer-causing chemicals into the air, where they can be inhaled by humans and animals and deposited in soil and surface water.

If you have plastic waste for disposal, first check with your local municipal recycling center or a plastic recycler company. The second option for proper disposal is to hire a commercial waste hauler.