The state's Board of Pesticides Control is offering free disposal of old, unwanted pesticides this fall.

Registration for the service is required by Sept. 25, 2009. To register, find out collection dates and locations, and learn important information about the temporary storage and transportation of obsolete pesticides, go to the BPC Web site at www.thinkfirstspraylast.org. Or, call the BPC at 287-2731.

Pesticides are among hazardous wastes collected at the town's annual collection, but the next scheduled collection in Cape Elizabeth will not be until May, 2010, said Cape Elizabeth Public Works Director Robert Malley.

The state's collection will be held this fall. “We urge people holding these chemicals to contact us immediately to register,” Paul Schlein, BPC Public Information Officer, said in a news release. “There will be four sites throughout the state where folks will be able to bring their obsolete pesticides.”

"Hundreds of Maine citizens live unaware of a quiet crisis lurking in or near their homes," the release says. "In barns, basements, sheds, or garages throughout the state reside tons of banned and unusable pesticides: old chemicals with infamous names like DDT, lead arsenate, 2,4,5-T, and chlordane."

The state regulatory agency will dispose of banned pesticides or pesticides that have become caked, frozen, or otherwise rendered unusable, at no cost to homeowners.

The collected chemicals go to out-of-state disposal facilities licensed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency where they are incinerated or reprocessed.

“While offering free obsolete pesticide disposal is expensive for us,” said Schlein, “it’s a bargain, compared to the cost of cleaning up contaminated soil or water. However, it’s worth noting that future funding is not guaranteed, so be sure to take advantage of this year’s collection while you can.”