2007 PRESS RELEASES
December 7, 2007
PESTICIDE PROGRAMS COLLECT MORE THAN 76,000 POUNDS OF PESTICIDES AND RECYCLE OVER 36,000 PLASTIC CONTAINERS IN 2007
Contact: Elaine J. Lidholm, 804.786.7686
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) and the Virginia Pesticide Control Board (VPCB) announced today the results of two key programs designed to assist with the disposal of unwanted and outdated pesticides and the recycling of empty plastic pesticide containers.
The 2007 Pesticide Disposal Program collected 76,249 pounds of unwanted pesticides at no cost to participants. VDACS conducted eight pesticide collections in the south central portion of the state - Lynchburg, Red House, Burkeville, Farmville, Ridgeway, Chatham, South Hill, and Halifax – to achieve these results. More than 70,000 pounds came from farmers, pesticide dealers, and pest control firms; 5,500 pounds came from golf courses and almost 230 pounds from homeowners. Since its inception, Virginia's Pesticide Disposal Program has collected and destroyed 1,407,415 pounds of outdated and unwanted pesticides.
Next year’s Pesticide Disposal Program will be held in southwest Virginia in the following localities: Counties of Alleghany, Bland, Botetourt, Buchanan, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Pulaski, Roanoke, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wythe and the Cities of Bristol, Clifton Forge, Covington, Galax, Norton, Radford, Roanoke, and Salem. Eligible participants are encouraged to contact their local Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent.
The 2007 Plastic Pesticide Container Recycling Program collected a total of 36,135 properly-rinsed plastic pesticide containers at 27 sites (19 localities; 8 dealers). Localities included the Counties of Brunswick, Clarke, Culpeper, Dinwiddie, Frederick, Greensville, Isle of Wight, Madison, Mecklenburg, New Kent, Northampton, Orange, Prince George, Pulaski, Rockingham, Southampton and Sussex and the Cities of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. Dealers participated in Essex, King and Queen, King George, King William, Prince George, Richmond and Wythe Counties and the City of Colonial Heights. To participate in the Plastic Pesticide Container Recycling Program, a locality must apply to VDACS and agree to collect, inspect and store the properly-rinsed containers until granulation. VDACS provides $1,875 in reimbursement costs to each participating locality to offset the cost of the program.
Since its inception, Virginia’s Plastic Pesticide Container Recycling Program has collected and granulated a total of 853,730 pesticide containers. The program is an environmentally-responsible alternative for the disposal of properly-rinsed plastic pesticide containers. Granulated chips are transported to recycling facilities and fabricated into items such as pallets, fence posts, field drain tiles and parking stops, keeping the containers out of landfills.