Ohio's Pesticide Container Recycling Program began in 1992. This program was introduced to Ohio by the pesticide industry. In 1992, industry representatives met with the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) and requested ODA's assistance with the program by overseeing the inspection process necessary under the Agricultural Container Research Council's (ACRC) guidelines. The program progressed and thrived until 1996 at which time much of the industry support was withdrawn because the income generated from the program was not enough to cover the expenses and the industry could not afford to subsidize the program. Since the program was popular with the industry and the Ohio Agribusiness Association, ODA was asked to take a larger role. ODA then applied and received a $68,000 grant from the U. S. EPA to purchase a plastic granulator for the program. The total cost for the granulator was $80,000 (ODA paid the additional $12,000). ODA currently works with the industry and other state government agencies to organize the collection sites. ODA also schedules the granulation dates and locations and operates the plastic granulator. The program has evolved over the past seven years and has grown from three collection sites in 1992 to 70 in 1998. To date, 339,000 pounds (approximately 565,000 plastic containers) have been recycled through this program.
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