Managing pesticide rinsate

Jane Boerboom, MDA Facility Management Unit Supervisor, Tana Haugen-Brown, UMN Pesticide Safety and Environmental Education Extension educator, and Sally Raymond, UMN Pesticide Safety and Environmental Education Extension educator

What is pesticide rinsate?

Pesticide rinsate is the mixture of a pesticide(s) with water, solvents, oils, commercial rinsing agents, or other substances, which may be produced during the washing of pesticide spray equipment, changing of spray mixes, and pesticide container rinsing, cleaning out of pesticide storage tanks, and other similar activities.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) recommends minimizing the amount of rinsate created and preventing the creation of hazardous, unusable product. Some ways you might reduce or eliminate generated or stored rinsate include:

• Washing your equipment in the field where the application is made.
• Mixing only the quantities of spray mix needed for an application and use all of it at the application site.
• Immediately cleaning and rinsing empty pesticide containers and using the rinsate in that pesticide application load.

Remember, the product label must be followed when disposing of pesticide rinsate. Discharging or dumping the liquid into the environment or mixing it with manure is not allowed. Illegal disposal is a violation of the pesticide label, and it may result in damage to the environment and subsequent financial penalties. Pesticides must be used, handled, stored, distributed, and disposed of in accordance with the pesticide label.

The MDA routinely conducts inspections to determine compliance with pesticide use, handling, disposal, and distribution requirements. It is critical that all pesticide applicators and handlers follow all State and Federal regulations, including pesticide label instructions.

How to dispose of pesticide rinsate

1. Rinsate can be used as “makeup” water in the pesticide spray mix so it can be applied to a target site per label directions.
2. If a rinsate can’t be used in your tank per the label directions, it must be disposed of as hazardous waste. Contact your county household hazardous environmental department or a hazardous waste disposal company.

As long as the label allows for it, the best place for rinsate is to go into your tank mix and be applied on a labelled site.

The MDA recommends that employees be trained to properly manage pesticides and pesticide rinsate to ensure that label directions are followed to protect the environment and human health. It is also recommended that rinsate should be used in the same season it was collected.

For questions or more information regarding rinsate or waste pesticide disposal, contact Jane Boerboom, Facility Management Unit Supervisor at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, jane.boerboom@state.mn.us.