ACRC MembersAgraQuest, Inc.Albaugh, Inc.

AMVAC Chemical CorporationArysta LifeScience of North America, LLC

BASF CorporationBayer CropScience

Bayer HealthCare, LLC, Animal Health DivisionBecker Underwood, Inc.

Brandt Consolidated, Inc.Certis USA, LLCCheminova, Inc.

Chemtura AgroSolutionsDow AgroSciences, LLCDuPont Crop Protection

Ensystex, Inc.Fine Americas, Inc.

FMC Agricultural ProductsGowan Company, LLC

Helena Chemical CompanyIsagro USA

Liphatech, Inc.Makhteshim-Agan of North America, Inc.

Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc.MGK Company

Monsanto CompanyMonterey AgResourcesNichino America, Inc.Nufarm Americas, Inc.Pace International, LLC

PBI/Gordon CorporationPROKoZ, Inc.RiceCo, LLC

SePRO CorporationSipcamAdvan

Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc.Tenkoz, Inc.

TurfCare Supply CorporationUnited Phosphorous, Inc.

Valent BioSciences CorporationValent U.S.A. Corporation

Wilbur-Ellis CompanyWinfield Solutions, LLC

Affiliate Member CompaniesCCL Label, Inc.Cimarron Label

Cousins-Currie, Division of Silgan Plastics CanadaIBC North America

Lee ContainerMauser CorporationPretium PackagingReliance Products

Total Label USA, LLCW. L. Gore & Associates

ACRC NEWSFebruary 2012 • Edition 4

from the Ag Container Recycling Council

February 3, 2012 marked the 20th anniversary of the incorporation of the Ag Container Recycling Council. The anniversary will be celebrated throughout the year with awareness events at various ag-related meetings, communications to our members and stakeholders, our redesigned website and the release of a celebratory video, all sporting ACRC’s new 20th Anniversary logo.

ACRC was formed in 1992 initially to address public and regulatory concerns over the dis-posal and handling of pesticide containers. Twenty crop protection companies joined to-gether as charter members and in the first year 1.2 million pounds of pesticide containers were collected.

Since that first year, ACRC has opened up collection site opportunities by working hand-in-hand with Federal, State, and local government agencies, retailers, recycling contractors and trade associations. The ACRC initiated and developed research projects to determine the risk of pesticide residues in non-consumer end-use products made from recycled pesti-cide containers. And, with the addition of full time staff in 2006, the ACRC has increased membership to forty-two regular and ten affiliate member companies, exceeded 125,000,000 pounds of plastic recycled, and become an example of excellence in product stewardship in the ag industry and beyond.

Throughout the twenty years there have been a large number of companies, agencies and individuals who have contributed to the success of ACRC and its mission of product stew-ardship. It couldn’t have been done without each and every one of them, and everyone in-volved should be proud of their contribution to the history and future of this organization and programs.

So, help spread the word! Be on the lookout for a celebratory event announcement or email of information to be shared with your co-workers. Join ACRC in looking forward to another twenty years of excellence in agricultural product stewardship.

ACRC Celebrates 20 Years of Product Stewardship!

Note from the Chair

As we enter 2012 we are excited to report great progress relating to ACRC program operation and results. 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the ACRC and we have surpassed the 125 mil-lion mark in pounds collected since 1992. We have worked with local and state organizations to

supplement the recycling opportunities provided through ACRC contractors. Where in the past there was no collection at all, we have implemented and expanded recycling opportunities through positive working relationship with service providers in Maine, New York, Nevada and Montana.

As the year progresses several noteworthy events and initiatives will take place. First we will have several events marking the 20th year of our existence. At the TPSA confer-ence in February we will be making a presentation on the past ACRC accomplishments and current initiatives. Later in the month we will be having a reception in Washington DC which will allow USEPA staff, U.S. Senators and Congressmen, and the CropLife America (CLA) Board to be present as we celebrate the occasion and hear brief congratulatory remarks from Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). The ACRC contractors will also be present since this is the timing of our annual contractors’ meeting.

Second, the ACRC Technical Committee (see separate article) is overseeing the sam-pling and evaluation of plastic from selected collection sites nationwide Under the origi-nal Risk Assessment Model (RAM) evaluation many of the products analyzed are no lon-ger in use. The ACRC is committed to keeping the RAM updated and are working with some of the same professional organizations who developed the RAM in the late 1990’s. The RAM evaluation will be ongoing, since our plan is to continuously input new chemistries for evaluation as they become available in the marketplace.

In 2011 the ACRC contractors collected and recycled more than 8.2 million pounds of pesticide con-tainers. This is a 1.8% increase over 2010. Sincere thanks go to our business staff in keeping this collec-tion trend on a positive path; allowing increased collection while reducing costs to member companies. Each member company is extremely pleased with the reduction in the per pound cost achieved by work-ing hard to find more end users and negotiating contracts that are a win/win for both the contractors and the members.

We have a newly designed website (www.acrecycle.org) which puts ACRC on a par with our peer associa-tions. We invite you to visit our website and send us your feedback. Again thanks goes to the business staff, the External Affairs Committee and the web site designer, IDD, Inc.

While 2012 is just beginning, the ACRC member companies are looking forward to another banner year. Special thanks to the management of the member companies who encourage us to keep moving forward!

Bill SpencerChair ACRCArysta LifeScience North America LLC

Please visit our new and improved website at www.acrecycle.org

In 2011 8,234,000 pounds of containers were collected. This represents a 1.8 % increase over 2010. This was the second year in a row that recycling exceeded eight million pounds. Since 1992 over 125 million pounds of pesticide containers have been collected and recycled as a result of the funding and support of ACRC member companies.

California again led the nation in 2011 with a record setting 1,706,771 pounds of containers recycled. California’s twenty year total now exceeds 20.5 million pounds. Mississippi, Washington, Texas and Oregon rounded out the top five in containers recycled in 2011. Of the 42 states that comprise the ACRC program, 20 reported increases and 22 reported decreases in total pounds recycled in 2011 compared with 2010. Nevada and Montana were added to the ACRC program in 2011. Significant in-creases (greater than 50 percent) were reported for Kansas, Mississippi, New York, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These increases reflect an extraordinary effort by the ACRC contractors, state regulatory agencies and agri-business associations, individual growers, pesticide applicators, and ag retailers.

The 2012 ACRC budget funds the collection and recycling of approximately 8.5 million pounds, which, with the continued cooperation and support of the stakeholders referenced above, is an attainable recycling goal. If you have ideas for ways to improve and expand the recycling efforts in your area please do not hesitate to contact your ACRC contractor directly or Ron Perkins at 877-952-2272 or email rperkins@acrecycle.org.

Pesticide Container Recycling Levels Hit New High for Second Straight Year

State 2011 Collection (lbs) State 1992-2011 Total

Collection (lbs)

California 1,706,771 California 20,509,807Mississippi 749,780 Texas 12,194,591Washington 704,833 Mississippi 11,780,068Texas 435,560 Washington 6,659,410Oregon 404,717 Arkansas 6,459,027Louisiana 395,865 Louisiana 6,216,356North Carolina 391,105 Iowa 5,118,589Arkansas 374,759 North Carolina 5,087,167South Carolina 341,091 Florida 4,271,377Florida 336,130 Minnesota 4,152,030Total 5,840,611 Total 82,448,422% of U .S. Total 71.2 % of U .S. Total 65.7

Top Ten States ( 2011 and 20 year total)

1992 — 2011(in millions of pounds)

10 states with the most pounds recycledOther states served by ACRC contractors

No ACRC Program

CA20.5

MS11.8

TX12.2

IA5.1

LA6.2

WA6.7

NC5.0

MN4.2

MO3.6

FL4.3

WI2.8

GA3.3

SC3.0

AL2.6

OR3.4

AZ2.2

IL1.8

NE2.0

KY1.5

OK1.4

PA1.6

VA1.7

IN1.0

MI1.3

SD1.3

KS1.0

NM1.0

OH0.8

ID1.5

ND0.9

MD0.8

ME0.5

TN 0.5

CO0.2

WY0.2

WV0.2

NY0.4

AR6.5

VT0.07MT

0.2

NV0.05 UT

NH MA0.04

CT

NJ

DE0.2

RI

Total recycling (1992-2011) =

125.8 million pounds!

As previously reported in the July 2010 ACRC Newsletter, there

has been extraordinary expansion in the number of collection sites in New York since the program began in 2007. Most recently, the number of collection sites has increased from 31 in 2010 to 45 in 2011. The pounds of containers recovered nearly doubled from approximately 88,000 in 2010 to 170,000 in 2011.

Collection sites are serviced twice yearly by the ACRC contractor, U.S. Ag Recycling (USAg). Triple-rinsed containers can also be returned to Tri-Valley Crop Center (TVCC) in Sprakers and the Long Island Cauliflower Association (LICA) on Long Island if arrangements are made prior to delivery. The success in New York is due to the combined ef-forts of the aforementioned organizations, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC), and the New York State Agri-business Association (NYSABA).

For more information contact Jeannette Marvin at NYSABA: jmarvin@rochester.rr.com, Sam Gibson (USAg); samg@usagrecycling.com, John Bokina at LICA; j.bokina@licassoc.com, or Kelly Wilder at TVCC; kwilder@carolina-eastern.com.

The Ag Container Recycling Council was one of four organiza-tions honored by the California Product Stewardship Council

(CPSC) during the organization’s Arrow Awards ceremony held in San Diego at the California Resource Recovery Associations 35th an-nual conference. The Arrow Awards were created by CPSC and recog-nize organizations that are taking a leadership role in waste reduction.

The Ag Container Recycling Council (ACRC) was honored for their coalition building with a Bow & Arrow Award. The recycling program in California is operated by Interstate Ag Plastic, based in Button-willow, CA. Recognized as the oldest, continually running, voluntary, industry-funded, product-stewardship program in the nation, ACRC efforts in California have led to more than 20,000,000 pounds. of containers recycled, the equivalent of 4,000,000 gallons of gaso-line saved as well as 100,000 cubic yards of landfill space saved. This pro-active role in the stewardship of products through the entire sup-ply chain makes the ACRC a model for other industries to follow.

“We are so pleased to spotlight the contributions of this organization that is truly a product-stewardship star in California,” said Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director of the California Production Stewardship Council. CPSC educates both the public and private sectors about product stewardship and closely part-ners with businesses, jurisdictions, waste and recycling companies, manufacturers and others to promote and encourage sustainable practices.

For more information concerning this prestigious award, contact Ron Perkins, ACRC Executive Director: rperkins@acrecycle.org

ACRC Receives California Product Stewardship

Containers being loaded for grinding at New York ag retailer

Rapid Expansion of Pesticide Container Recycling Continues in New York

Ron Perkins (ACRC), Brad Bittleston, (Interstate Ag Plastics), and Arun Malik, (AMVAC) accept CPSC award on behalf of ACRC

ACRC NEWSPublished by the

Ag Container Recycling Council

(ACRC).

The ACRC is a non-profit

organization that promotes,

facilitates and manages the

collection and recycling of

properly rinsed HDPE crop

protection product containers.

Got an interesting

recycling story to tell?

Contact Ron Perkins (editor) at:

223 South Main Street

Lexington, VA 24450

e-mail: rperkins@acrecycle.org

Tel (Toll-free): 877-952-2272

Fax (Toll-free): 877-951-2272

website: www.acrecycle.org

Ag ContainerRecycling Council223 South Main Street Lexington, VA 24450

If you do not wish to receive this Newsletter, please contact me at rperkins@acrecycle.org or call me at 877-952-2272.

In addition to removing as many empty plastic drums/jugs from the environment as practically possible, the ACRC supports reusing the plastic in a way that maintains the

industry’s commitment to stewardship of both our crop protection products and the crop-land to which they are applied. To that end, as reported in the July 2011 Newsletter, the ACRC initiated a project in 2011 to update the ACRC Risk Assessment Model (RAM) originally developed by ACRC in the late 1990’s. ACRC uses the RAM to validate end use risk exposure for plastics intended for specific non-consumer uses. A new list of chemicals will be assessed by the RAM as some chemistries originally tested are no longer on the market, chemistry formulations have changed, and new chemistries have been developed.

To date, the older DOS-based program has been converted to Windows-based and instead of having it in a specific computer/CD based system it will now be Internet-based and be able to be updated as new chemistries become available. This will allow the ACRC staff and the Technical Committee to review these chemistries for potential new end-uses. By enter-ing the exposure level of the end-use product in both production and daily use, we will be better able to determine if this is an acceptable use for recycled pesticide containers.

Development of a statistically-based experimental program is now underway. Samples of triple-rinsed pesticide container plastic collected by ACRC contractors from every agri-cultural region in the country will be washed and converted into a recycled product using plastic extrusion equipment and analyzed for residues. Evaluation of the resulting data using the updated ACRC-RAM will then provide a sound basis for a final determination of the viability of producing specified non-consumer end products such as field drain tile from triple-rinsed pesticide containers.

The update of the RAM will make a significant contribution to the accomplishment of the ACRC’s product stewardship objectives in an environmentally responsible manner. If you have questions relating to the RAM update or the end-uses of plastic collected in the ACRC program, please contact the ACRC (information@acrecycle.org) or call 877 952-2272.

ACRC Risk Assessment Model Update

Granulated containers being washed at USAg in preparation for use in approved end use products