AUGUSTA — The state will help Mainers dispose of banned or unusable pesticides in October through the Maine Obsolete Pesticides Collection Program. It’s free for homeowners, family-owned farms and greenhouses.

Collections will occur locally in Augusta. Participants must register by Friday, Sept. 23. No drop-ins will be allowed.

“Homeowners and farmers inadvertently store banned pesticides or pesticides that have become unusable,” said Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Commissioner Walter Whitcomb. “The Maine Obsolete Pesticides Collection Program helps prevent unwanted pesticides from being thrown in the trash or poured down the drain, potentially contaminating the land or drinking water.”

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

FMI, register: 207-287-2731, www.thinkfirstspraylast.org.