This month state legislatures in Minnesota and Vermont passed bills in support of the PaintCare Architectural Product Stewardship Program according to a press release from the American Coatings Association. The program adds a scaled, per-volume fee to one-component architectural finishes-shellac, lacquer, varnish, polyurethane finish, waterborne urethane finish, moisture-cure urethane finish, conversion varnish and stains-to fund the collection, reuse and disposal of any post-consumer product.
The program, which began in Oregon in 2008, has since been adopted by California, Connecticut and Rhode Island, with legislation pending in Illinois and Washington. The ACA says Maine, Texas, New York and New Jersey will pursue legislation this year, and Colorado, New Hampshire, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Kentucky have also expressed interest in the program.
PaintCare is designed to relieve local governments of the financial burden of funding Hazardous Household Waste programs, for which paint is the No. 1 product by volume and cost. The ACA reports that of the $3.3 million spent on expenses in just the first year of the program in Oregon, 83 percent went back out to Oregon service providers, both municipal and private, as a direct cost savings to taxpayers.
Some manufacturers have expressed concern about the program coming to their region, fearing that if their state requires them to charge extra, their customers will switch to manufacturers in states without the PaintCare program. The ACA hopes to head off this issue by getting the legislation passed in all 50 states.
