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FRANKFORT, Ky. — On America Recycles Day on Nov. 15, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Rinse and Return Program will celebrate a significant milestone. The program has collected more than 1 million pounds of plastic chemical containers for recycling in 15 years.
“This successful program has saved landfill space while providing material to create a wide variety of products from the recycled plastic,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “I want to thank Department staff as well as all the farmers who have participated over the years.”
The Rinse and Return Program started in 1991 in three pilot counties – Christian, Graves and Hardin – and collected 10,000 pounds of plastic. This year, Mark Wilson of the KDA’s Division of Environmental Services anticipates a total of more than 45,000 pounds from 107 counties.
The KDA also collects large containers with a capacity of 15 gallons or more in its Mini-Bulk Recycling Program. Wilson expects the Department to collect more than 500 mini-bulk containers this year, which would be “by far our most successful” year since the program began in 2000. The program, operated on a biennial basis in even-numbered years, is the first statewide crop protectant mini-bulk recycling program in the country. Wilson said most of the containers are collected in the western third of the state, since that is where most of Kentucky’s grain production is concentrated.
The Farm Chemical Collection Program picks up unwanted, outdated or banned pesticides at no cost to farmers. Since it began in 1995, the KDA has collected in excess of 520,000 pounds of chemicals from more than 1,850 farmers.
"Due to increased outreach efforts of the department staff and the support of Commissioner Farmer in promoting our voluntary, pro-active environmental programs, we have experienced substantial growth in our Rinse and Return and Mini-Bulk recycling programs, as well as our Farm Chemical Collection program," Wilson said. "This growth can also be attributed to positive responses by the farmers, agri-businesses and other partners that the Department utilizes to make our programs successful. Last, but not least, we all realize that it is just the right thing to do to keep Kentucky’s air, land and water clean for our kids and grandkids."
For more information about the KDA’s recycling and chemical collection programs, contact the Division of Environmental Services toll-free at 1-800-205-6543.
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