Plastic pestitcide container recycling shot up by nearly 40 percent last year, according to new statistics from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
A recycling program collected and granulated 128,226 pounds of rinsed plastic containers at 32 locations in 2014.
Since its creation, the program has diverted 1.4 million pounds of plastic from landfills, the state said.
The recycled plastic is remanufactured into products including highway sign posts, fence posts, drain tiles, utility conduit and composite platforms for intermediate bulk containers, the state said.
The Plastic Pesticide Container Recycling Program is available through a partnership with the Ag Container Recycling Council, a group that includes pesticide manufacturers and distributors.