SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Residents of eight northwestern Illinois counties can dispose of unwanted agrichemicals for free this year through the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Pesticide Clean Sweep program.

A Clean Sweep collection has been scheduled in late summer for Carroll, Henry, Jo Daviess, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, Stephenson and Whiteside counties, the department announced today.  The collection, which rotates among Illinois counties, is open to farmers, retired farmers, nursery owners, private pesticide applicators and landowners who inherited unwanted agricultural pesticides with their property.

“There are two, big reasons to take advantage of this program,” Warren Goetsch, bureau chief of Environmental Programs, said.  “First, it’s free.  If individuals were to properly dispose of agrichemicals on their own, the cost would be expensive.  But the department is able to provide the service free of charge thanks to a grant it obtained from the U.S. EPA.  Second, the state of Illinois, not the program participant, will assume liability for the proper disposal of all materials collected.”

Participants must register the products they plan to dispose of by June 25.  Registration is required to give the waste disposal contractor time to prepare for the different kinds of materials that will need to be handled.  Forms can be obtained either by calling the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Hotline at 1-800-641-3934 or visiting one of the program sponsors listed below.

Completed forms should be mailed or faxed to the Illinois Department of Agriculture.  The mailing address is:  Clean Sweep Program, Illinois Department of Agriculture, State Fairgrounds, P.O. Box 19281, Springfield, IL, 62794-9281.  The fax number is (217) 524-4882.

Participants then will be sent a reservation card indicating the date, time and location of their collection.