The board of directors of the National Paint and Coatings Association (NPCA) has approved a resolution authorizing the association to continue with the Paint Product Stewardship Initiative (PPSI) dialogue for the purpose of pursuing the development of a new nationally coordinated system for the management of post-consumer waste paint. The board further authorized NPCA to work with the dialogue participants to develop a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) for activities required to develop the system. As part of the MOU, NPCA member companies expect to commit to undertake a “pilot project” to work through critical issues and gather information that will be needed to develop a supportive, functional system. The NPCA board of directors and/or the NPCA executive committee will consider final approval of the MOU at its July 2007 meeting in Washington, DC.

In approving this resolution, the NPCA board of directors noted that there are many important considerations that must be addressed in a definitive way to allow for continued industry support.    

• Consumer education must be a cornerstone of the system, to reduce the volume of leftover paint and the cost of its management
• Collecting or recycling latex paint in rural areas is not cost-effective
• Collecting or recycling latex paint in cans less than one-third full is not cost-effective  
• Oil-based paint should be collected for disposal  (due to its ignitability)
• There should be no mandatory “take back” at retail locations – although retailers and manufacturers may take back product voluntarily
• Industry expects to partner with government to share the cost and responsibility of managing post- consumer paint
• Where available, existing government collection infrastructure should be utilized
• Where non-existent, industry acknowledges it may need to subsidize a new collection system (e.g., such as the “Product Care” system in British Columbia)
• Paint collection and management must be as cost-effective as possible
• Costs should be fair, transparent to the consumer, and collected at retail
• An industry-run organization is needed to collect and allocate funds with full accountability

Finally, in moving forward with the development of the MOU, the design and establishment of a feasible pilot project, and in the ensuing expansion of activities towards a new nationally coordinated system, NPCA member companies expect to assign additional expert support personnel to the dialogue, including those with expertise in operations, distribution and marketing, to optimize the outcome.