Agricultural Container Recycling

Event Information

No event scheduled at this time

Who Can Participate

Growers
Pest Control Businesses
Public Agencies
Golf Courses

What’s Accepted

Pesticide and fertilizer containers ranging from 1-quart bottles to 55-gallon drums.
Members of the Agricultural Commissioner’s staff are on-site during the collection and certify the containers to be clean before they are accepted for recycling.
To be acceptable for recycling the containers must be:
- Triple rinsed
- Dry
- Caps, lids, loose labels and bucket handles removed
Containers not meeting the above requirements will be rejected and sent back with the person in possession of them for proper preparation.

Contact

To be added to our mailing list, contact our office at 707-253-4357.
For more information about recycling in Napa County, visit the Environmental Management Recycling, Waste Reduction, and Disposal page.

The Recycling Process

The day of the event, the ACRC’s Buttonwillow, California based recycling contractor, Interstate Ag Plastics, sets up its equipment. Once the containers are certified clean, they are thrown into the granulator. The containers are granulated into small flakes and blown into large cloth bags. Each bag weighs approximately 1,900 pounds and is ready to be sold to approved manufacturers of recycled plastic products.

Approved End-Uses

The flake plastic material is kept separate from the stream of household recycled plastics prior to its utilization in re-manufactured products. The ACRC assures that the re-manufactured products present only a negligible risk to human or environmental health from any exposure to remaining residues in or on the recovered plastic. The ACRC has determined that a number of products can be safely made from the recovered plastic. These products include:

Pallets
Field drain pipe
Fence posts
Marine pilings
Speed bumps
Commercial truck sub-floor supports
Chemical containers
Hazardous waste drums

History

In 1992, the non-profit Agricultural Container Recycling Council (ACRC) was formed to promote and support container recycling programs throughout the country.

Originally, the ACRC recycling programs were funded by major agrochemical manufacturers.

In 2008, passage of Senate Bill 1723 added a section to the Food and Agricultural Code requiring registrant’s who sell agricultural or structural use pesticide products in plastic containers to have, or participate in, a container recycling program. The passage of this bill stabilized the funding source for recycling programs statewide. There is no cost to those participating in the recycling events.

In 1994, Napa County held its first recycling event and through November 2020, has sponsored 51 recycling days. Since 1997, Napa County has staged two events annually, in the spring and fall.

Since the program’s inception, Napa County has recycled nearly 570,000 pounds of chemical containers or 285 tons.