Clean Sweep Pesticide Disposal Program is coming to a county near you in August 

By Kyra Meister 

The Clean Sweep Pesticide Disposal Program is back this August. It provides a unique opportunity for anyone from farmers to schools to golf courses and all those in between for disposal of suspended, banned, unusable, opened, unopened or simply unwanted pesticides – including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, etc. 

The program will not accept empty containers, fertilizers, adjuvants, seed oils, etc. – pesticides only. On six days, in different locations across the state, Clean Sweep provides the chance to safely, legally and efficiently dispose of these pesticides at little or no cost. 

The collection sites will be in LaPorte, Vigo, Decatur, Clark, Whitley, and Hendricks Counties throughout the middle of August. Each site will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., local time. Collection dates and locations are: 

• Aug. 12 – Pinney Purdue Ag Center, 11402 S. County Line Rd., Wanatah, Ind. 

• Aug. 13 – Keystone Cooperative, 2500 S. 13th St., Terre Haute, Ind. 

• Aug. 14 – Kova Fertilizer, 1300 N. Anderson St., Greensburg, Ind. 

• Aug. 19 – Clark County Solid Waste District, 112 Industrial Way, Charlestown, Ind. 

• Aug. 20 – Ag Plus, 5501 S. S.R. 9, Columbia City, Ind. 

• Aug. 21 – Hendricks County Fairgrounds, 1900 E. Main St., Danville, Ind. 

Disposal is free up to 250 pounds per participant. There will be a $3 charge for every pound more than the 250-pound limit. For any amount more than 250 pounds, participants may take the pesticides back and dispose of them next year or pay the extra charge that will be billed at a later date. 

To participate in this event, simply complete and return the participant form available at www.bcswmd.com/pdf/2025_clean_sweep_form.pdf. Submitting this form allows contractors to be prepared for the amount of product intended for collection. 

In 2024, the program collected more than 79,000 pounds of product from 236 participants. For years, this program has proved to be worthwhile as there are not many pesticide disposal resources available for large-scale waste. According to Mitch Trimble, a Pesticide Investigator at the Office of Indiana State Chemist and Program Coordinator of Clean Sweep, older pesticides are especially concerning. 

“Pesticides from today are very different from the past,” Trimble explained. “They are designed to be much safer to use and have less impact on the environment when used correctly. Older pesticides were not designed to break down, were much more toxic to humans, and were packaged in susceptible containers, such as glass bottles, wax-coated paper bags and metal cans.” 

Each year, Clean Sweep safely disposes of highly hazardous and often banned chemicals including 2,4,5-T, Chlordane, DTT, Dinoseb and others. Although these are the extreme and only account for a small amount, it’s always great to see Clean Sweep dispose of them properly. 

OISC is happy to provide this safe and affordable service to the businesses and residents of Indiana, and hope that Hoosiers will consider participating, Trimble said. 

Questions can be directed to Trimble at cleansweep@groups.purdue.edu or call 765-494-7142.