Got unwanted pesticides in your storage? Get rid of it for free!

BY: Denise Beaton, OMAFA Crop Protection Specialist, Josh Mosiondz, Provincial Minor Use Coordinator

Do you have old, expired, compromised, or cancelled pesticides sitting in your storage shed collecting dust? Cleanfarms is running a collection program for unwanted pesticides and livestock/equine medications in Ontario this year, running from September 15 to 26, 2025. The program is funded by Cleanfarms’ crop protection industry members and the Canadian Animal Health Institute. The next collection opportunity for Ontario will not be until Fall 2028; Growers and Pesticide users are strongly urged to take advantage of this FREE service.

Accepted materials include:

• Unwanted agricultural pesticides including seed treatments (with Pest Control Product number).
• Commercial pest control products used on golf courses or industrial sites.
• Livestock/equine medications (with DIN, serial, notification, or Pest Control Product number).

This program does NOT accept:

• Treated seed.
• Fertilizer, diluted solution, large quantities of unopened product.
• Full and unopened jugs of adjuvant or surfactant.
• Needles or sharps, medicated feed, aerosol containers, premise disinfectants and sanitizers, veterinary clinic waste and medications, and ear tags.
• Domestic pesticides, fertilizers and animal health products.
• Other household hazardous waste.

Plan ahead! Collect your unwanted pesticides and old livestock medications. Ensure they are in a sealable or spill-proof container. Check the poster or Cleanfarms for the closest collection site and the date(s) that this collection will take place.

Make special note of pesticides that have undergone re-evaluations recently. During a pesticide re-evaluation, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) can decide to cancel uses or phase out products if risks to human health and or the environment cannot be mitigated. Sometimes the registrant will also choose to voluntarily discontinue a product.

Examples of pesticide active ingredients where some uses were cancelled in recent years (this is not an all-inclusive list) include:

• Acephate
• Captan
• Carbaryl
• Clothianidin
• Cyromazine
• Ethephon
• Folpet
• Imidacloprid
• Iprodione
• Lambda-Cyhalothrin
• Linuron
• Methomyl
• Metiram
• Naled
• Phosmet
• Pymetrozine
• Tebuconazole
• Thiamethoxam
• Thiophanate-methyl
• Thiram

Examples of pesticide active ingredients that are recently no longer registered for use in Canada (this is not an all-inclusive list; products cancelled or phased out many years ago are also eligible for disposal):

• Captan (Wettable Powder and Wettable Granule formulations)
• Chlorpyrifos (all products)
• Chlorthal-dimethyl (all products)
• Diazinon (all products)
• Dichlorvos (all products)
• Febuconazole (all product’s registration will expire December 31, 2025)
• Ferbam (all products)
• Mancozeb (Powder and Wettable Powder formulations)
• (S)-kinoprene (all products)
• Quinoxyfen (all products)
• Ziram (all products)

Have questions about current labelled uses or the pesticide collection? Check the most up-to-date labels on the PMRA’s label search database. Visit Cleanfarms for more information on this collection program. If you are unsure whether your product fits the scope of this collection, you can call 877-622-4460 or email info@cleanfarms.ca. This opportunity won’t come around again until Fall 2028, so plan ahead for those September dates!