Residents and businesses across New York State will soon be able to recycle unwanted paint thanks to a new law that was overwhelmingly approved by the New York State Legislature and signed yesterday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

According to the NY Product Stewardship Council, more than 2 million gallons of paint will be recycled annually under an industry-managed paint recovery and recycling program.

Almost all unwanted paint is currently disposed of in landfills or waste to energy facilities. The new program will create recycling sector jobs in the reprocessing of millions of gallons of paint for reuse and recycling, and reduce the financial burden of waste management that local governments now shoulder.

The program is anticipated to go into effect in early 2021 and will offer hundreds of conveniently located drop-off locations throughout the state. There will be no cost to residents and businesses when dropping off their unwanted paint for recycling; funding to run the program is included in the cost of new paint.

New York is the 10th state (in addition to the District of Columbia) to adopt this program, which will be managed by PaintCare, a nonprofit organization created by the paint industry through the American Coatings Association. The other states that have enacted similar legislation over the past several years are Oregon, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Washington, and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia.

“We look forward to building on our 10 years of experience in other states to launch a program in New York that not only works for the paint industry, but also meets public demand for convenience, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness,” said Heidi McAuliffe, VP of government affairs for the American Coatings Association.