How do municipalities deal with toxic, excess, paint products that are not used and no longer wanted by a purchaser? Is there any way to properly, affordably, and sustainably deal with this excess?

The answer is yes
PaintCare, a 501(c)(3), was established in 2010 by the American Coatings Association with the belief that paint manufacturers should assume a greater responsibility in the collection, reuse, recycling, transportation, and disposal of post-consumer architectural paint, and in so doing, effectively curtailing one issue that plagues local governments and their already delicate fiscal status.  New Jersey is currently entertaining the possibility of becoming the 10th state to enact the PaintCare program.

The current “system” in NJ was evaluated and deemed to lack sufficient organizational structure, funds, and capacity to handle the aforementioned directives.  As it stands, proper management of post-consumer paint – a function currently executed by local municipalities through Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) programs – has a several-million-dollar, annual price tag. These high costs are an unnecessary burden for local governments and their taxpayers. Due largely to a lack of coordination and practical systems, the status quo is inefficient and unsustainable.

“The Legislature finds and declares…that hazardous waste collection days are costly for local governments and insufficient, inconvenient and too infrequent to properly serve local businesses and residents, resulting in missed opportunities to reduce, reuse and recycle paint.” Senate Bill 1420 (2015)

The Industry-Led Solution
PaintCare’s sole purpose is to ensure quality operation and administration of paint stewardship programs in each implemented state on behalf of paint manufacturers.

According to Alison Keane, VP government affairs, ACA, when faced with the possibility of forced compliance in a government-recycling mandate – a potential repeat of the disjointed E-Waste programs with their 26 separate laws in 30 separate states, paint manufacturers stepped up and voiced a desire to create their own program. So, in 2003, the Paint Stewardship Institute began facilitating constructive dialogue between members of the paint industry, government officials, et al., to discuss how to overcome the issue of post-consumer paint reduction and to improve recycling capabilities.

In 2007, with the help of over 200 dialogue participants, PSI passed its historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), outlining the process for the PaintCare program and how it would be managed and funded; it also called for a demonstration project in an initial state, followed by additional states’ roll-out after an evaluation period.

Oregon was the first state to pass the legislation to implement the PaintCare program in 2010.  Since then California, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Connecticut have followed suite by implementing PaintCare in their states; it has been seen as a responsible and affordable industry-led approach to the efficient reuse and recycling of post-consumer architectural paints and paint products, and more states continue to want in. 

Jersey’s PaintCare
Coordinating with the current HHW infrastructure and with the help of geographic information modeling, PaintCare is required to provide the most convenient and available collection system that their resources can provide for. Their main location objectives declared in the bill require:

1. That at least 90% of state residents have a permanent collection site within 15 miles of their residence;
2. That permanent collection sites be established for every 30,000 residents of a population center;
3. That collection sites be distributed to provide convenient and equitable access for residents within each population center; and
4. For those residents who do not have a permanent collection site within 15 miles of their residence, the plan shall provide for annual collection events.

To help ensure convenience for residents who purchase and wish to drop-off their leftover paint – even 30-year-old “legacy” paint, PaintCare is responsible for locating third parties who may volunteer to be collection sites. These volunteers may include household waste or transfer stations, hardware stores, paint stores, or home improvement stores. From these collection sites, haulers will then pick up and transport the materials to the appropriate facilities.

For those retailers who volunteer, PaintCare is required to provide education and outreach, which may include point-of-sale materials, as well as radio and television ads. Also, PaintCare will provide storage bins, supplies, and site training, in addition to paying for transportation and recycling of materials. As a side benefit, PaintCare will promote the retailers location to the local community as a drop-off site.

“The ACA only supports voluntary take back,” stated Marie Clark, counsel in government affairs, ACA. “In becoming volunteers, these retailers are not only providing a community service, but they are also receiving free advertising and potentially increased foot traffic.”
Concerning the materials to be collected, they are defined as architectural paints, but can include primers, stains, sealers, and clear coatings. Aerosol products, industrial maintenance, original equipment manufacturers and special coatings are not acceptable. All acceptable materials must be labeled, in their original containers, no larger than 5 gallons, and securely sealed.
Latex- and oil-based paints are also collected, adding capacity to the state’s current system.

Currently, only 5 of the 21 counties in New Jersey accept latex paint for recycling and disposal. With 80 percent of the paint sold today being latex-based, this is a huge deal with huge financial implications. The repurposing of latex is a very costly process for local governments, but provides a boost to sustainability.

According to Clark, “70 percent of latex is reusable in landscaping stones, plastic pales, etc. Oil-based paints, however, are not nearly as useful. The oil can be burned for energy, but being toxic, there are not many other uses for it.”

Funding for the program in its entirety is through the collection of a paint stewardship assessment (PaintCare fee). This assessment estimates the total annual cost of the program and expenses it to the paint manufacturers selling paint in that state. To maintain a level playing field, the assessment is then passed on from the manufacturer to the paint distributors, and/or retailers, and then to the end-consumer. This is not optional; the paint stewardship assessment is taxable and must be included in the sale price of paint products included in the program.

To be included in the program, paint brands must register with PaintCare. This also is not optional.

Making an estimate of the annual paint sales in the state and dividing that value by the total number of containers sold, gives one the PaintCare fee. Since, the fees are variable based on container size, the next step in the process is adjusting the cost across the various container sizes. All the participating states thus far have a very similar, if not identical, pricing system. It costs approximately $0.35 for a quart, $0.75 for a gallon, and $1.60 for a five-gallon container. Being a nonprofit, the total monies collected go solely to funding the operational costs of the PaintCare program. This includes collection, transportation, recycling, public outreach, and program administration.

The assessment fee must be approved by an independent audit that is submitted to the Department of Environmental Services; it must only be set at a rate that covers the cost of the PaintCare program, otherwise, it will be altered accordingly.

Where It Stands
The fate of New Jersey’s PaintCare program is yet to be determined. Passing the NJ Senate on May 18th with a margin of 26-7, SB 1420 now awaits the votes to get out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, as AB 1603, before it can receive a general vote and move forward to Governor Christie’s desk. At this time, according to Clark, the ACA is hopeful that the bill will pass through the Assembly and receive the governor’s signature before the end of this legislative session.

Regarding the governor’s stance on the bill, “It is thus far unclear. The governor’s staff has asked questions concerning the bill, but they have not indicated which way the governor will stand the bill should it make it to his desk; he will likely wait until the bill gets out of Assembly before making a decision,” stated Clark.

In other states, progress is being made in the passage and implementation of PaintCare as well. Massachusetts, similarly, has their bill tied up in debate, but is hoping to bring it up for a vote this year.  Colorado and Maine, however, are expecting to rollout their programs July 1st and August 1st, respectively, of this year, while Washington, D.C. is anticipating the rollout of their program January 1st, 2016.