PaintCare, a fantastic program for recycling leftover paint, has recently collected over a million gallons of leftover paint in Oregon. According to Paint & Coatings Industry Magazine, participation in Oregon’s Paint Stewardship Program has skyrocketed by thirty percent in the paint recycling program’s second year. “More than 600,000 gallons of leftovers were collected during the second year. The program has collected 1,079,136 gallons of leftover paint throughout Oregon since the program began in July 2010.”
The Oregon pilot program is the first of its kind in the United States and “has shown significant increases in both the collection of latex and alkyd paint, as well as the public’s general awareness of the program.” As painting contractors California counts on, we’re excited to see the progress Oregon has made, and hope that California, which has the second such program in the country, sees an even higher participation rate.
PaintCare is a non-profit organization established by the American Coatings Association to implement paint stewardship programs on behalf of the paint manufacturers in states that pass paint stewardship laws. A similar program was launched last year in California, and additional programs are scheduled for Connecticut (July 2013), and Rhode Island (2014).
In addition to facilitating paint recycling, PaintCare also educates consumers about proper storage, disposal and reuse of paint products. For more information, visit http://www.paintcare.org/.
