Studies show that 10% of paint that is purchased ends up being unused. That works out to 80 million gallons of paint each year, according to the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), a policy advocate and consulting nonprofit. That paint ends up in people’s garages, landfills or even poured down drains.

Actually, leftover paint can be reused or recycled, but creating a mechanism to do this has taken time and effort. In 2002, Scott Cassel, PSI’s CEO and founder, reached out to the American Coatings Association (ACA) to see is they could mutually develop a solution for leftover paint.

After working with the paint industry, state and local governments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, recycled paint manufacturers, painting contractors and retailers, PaintCare, a wholly owned subsidiary division of the American Coatings Association (ACA), was formed.

PaintCare contracts with companies to collect the paint from participating retailers and municipal government, and those companies subcontract with recycled paint companies. The program is subsidized by a slight fee on every gallon of paint that is sold.

Oregon was the first state to sign on to PaintCare. Since then, PaintCare has been launched in 10 states – California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Maine, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington – and the District of Columbia. New York was the most recent state to join PaintCare, signing on in 2021 and launching in 2022.

Over the years, PaintCare has successfully recovered more that 60 million gallons of paint in the US alone, saving an estimated $300 million in collection and processing costs. That figure could be higher of course, but many states remain on the sideline.

There is good news to report, as Illinois has just become the 11th state to join PaintCare, with Gov. J.B. Prtizker signing the bill into law on July 28, 2023. The estimated launch is 2025.

“It is exciting to offer this service to Illinoisans with old paint taking up space in their homes,” said Illinois State Sen. Linda Holmes, who as the chief sponsor of the new law. Holmes added that more than 1 million gallons of paint annually will be managed in the state.

Cassel noted that the Illinois Product Stewardship Council, the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), and the American Coatings Association (ACA) have been working to bring paint stewardship to Illinois since 2015. He added that legislators saw the positives to PaintCare and overwhelmingly approved it.

“In the past, there were a few concerns that required more education and attention than legislators had time for given their other priorities,” Cassel said. “This year became the year when these issues were resolved.”

Brett Rodgers, director of communications for PaintCare, said that PaintCare’s goal is to plan and operate a successful industry-led postconsumer paint program in the state of Illinois.

“Our first step is to begin developing a program plan for the state program that will address the details of how the program will work: the paint collection infrastructure, the funding mechanism, the public education plan, and so on,” Rodgers added.

PaintCare partners with drop-off sites, most of which are paint retailers like paint and hardware stores, and PaintCare also partners with government-run waste facilities to support paint collection. Rodgers said that PaintCare will be creating a network for people to drop off their old paint.

“Once Illinois’ paint stewardship law goes into effect on January 1, 2024, we will have 12 months to submit the program plan to Illinois EPA for their approval,” he added. “During that time, we will also be reaching out to paint retailers, HHW program personnel, and other potential drop-off site partners to begin recruiting a network of drop-off sites to be ready at the time of program launch.”

Ultimately, Rodgers observed that implementing the PaintCare program will make recycling leftover paint convenient for the entire state of Illinois.

“We plan to provide drop-off sites within 15 miles of at least 90% of the state, usually at centrally located paint retail stores that are open during regular business hours.” Rodgers reported. “We also plan to provide free pickups to anyone with at least 100 gallons of leftover paint, providing a much-needed benefit to painting contractors, businesses, institutions, and others who accumulate a lot of paint.”

Rodgers noted that PaintCare also provides a sensible funding mechanism that encourages use of the program.

“There will be no cost to drop off paint for recycling; all costs for collection, transportation, and processing of paint in Illinois will be covered by a small fee added to purchases of new paint in the state,” he said. “This means that only those who buy and use paint chip in to provide for management of the waste downstream.”

Cassel said there is the possibility that more states will enlist in PaintCare soon.

“Paint stewardship legislation was also introduced in 2023 in Maryland, Missouri, and Massachusetts,” Cassel noted. “We expect Maryland and Missouri to reintroduce their paint bills in the 2024 session. Massachusetts is still in session, but if the paint bill is not passed this year, it will carry over into the 2024 session.”

Rodgers added that paint retailers throughout Illinois are encouraged to consider becoming a voluntary drop-off site when the new program launches.

“PaintCare provides all training and materials, including paint collection bins, signage, etc.,” Rodgers added “There is no cost to retailers to participate, and they get some substantial benefits. These include providing a needed and appreciated service to their community as well as attracting new customers to their store. PaintCare will also advertise their site as a drop-off site on its highly trafficked web locator tool and in outreach sent out to Illinois paint consumers. It’s a win-win.”

To learn more about PaintCare, please visit www.paintcare.org. To learn more about PSI, please visit www.productstewardship.us.