The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is offering rural Texans the opportunity to dispose of banned or unwanted pesticides, properly rinsed plastic pesticide containers, used motor oil, oil filters, and lead-acid batteries free of charge. This collection will be held, rain or shine, at the following time and location:

Tuesday, December 4 - Helena Chemical, 4642 E Main Collection hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Agricultural wastes that will be collected include tractor-waste products, such as brake and transmission fluids; and agricultural supplies, such as pesticides, insecticides, harvest chemicals, pesticides used on livestock, weed killers, and rat poison. All agricultural chemicals will be accepted, but products containing 2,4,5-T, 2,4,5,TP (Silvex) or pentachlorophenol will only be accepted in quantities of 5-gallons or less.

The program does not accept fertilizers or nutrient materials that are neither hazardous nor contain pesticide admixtures. No tires, explosives, compressed-gas cylinders, or wastes from chemical dealers will be accepted. Empty, plastic pesticide containers must be clean and triple- or high-pressure rinsed to be accepted. For large quantities of plastic pesticide containers, please contact USAg Recycling at 1-800-654-3145 to arrange pickup at no cost. There is a limit of two 55-gallon drums per participant on oil filter recycling, and filters will not be accepted from businesses that change oil for a fee.

Agricultural Waste Pesticide Collections are co-sponsored by the TCEQ's Small Business and Environmental Assistance Division, Texas Cooperative Extension Service, Texas Department of Agriculture, and USAg Recycling. The free collections, conducted rain or shine, give agricultural producers who use pesticides in Texas an opportunity to dispose of unwanted products safely and properly.

For more information about these collections, please contact County Extension Agent Wanda Willard at 830-278-6661 or visit the TCEQ's Ag. Waste Collection web page .