Oregon paint recycling program leads the nation

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Oregon retailers opened new avenues for paint recycling July 1 through a new statewide program, dubbed PaintCare, that looks to be a trailblazer for similar efforts nationwide.

PaintCare was authorized by the state Legislature in June 2009 to collect leftover paint and put it back into use. The nonprofit program allows consumers and contractors to return paint to retail stores, where it can be picked up and taken to recycling facilities and turned into new product.

"It’s the old reduce, reuse, recycle that we’ve been talking about for ages in this state in how we deal with products," said Rick Volpel, an independent contractor affiliated with PaintCare.

Volpel said the program was initiated by the American Coatings Association, a lobbying group for paint manufacturers. Since similar government programs in British Columbia proved unworkable for some, Volpel said manufacturers were inspired to create their own program stateside.

Those manufacturers will now fund PaintCare by paying fees on the paint they sell in Oregon. The fees are passed on to retailers, who in turn are tacking a 75-cents-per-gallon fee on paint sales to cover costs.

"From an industry perspective, I think it’s better that we get our arms around it. And it is our issue," said Steve Dearborn, CEO and president of Miller Paint.

As other states look on — the American Coatings Association has taken the legislation to Vermont, California and Minnesota, for starters — Dearborn said it’s "nice to lead the parade."

Dearborn said customers at Miller Paint stores appeared supportive of the new fee, first charged Thursday.

"Every consumer I talk to rolls their eyes and says, 'Oh, man, I’ve got 15 gallons in my garage and I don’t know what to do with it,'" said Dearborn. “The consumer has always been able to return unused paint to household waste facilities, but there aren’t that many around. They view that as a positive thing that there are now more places to bring paint back to.”

Dearborn said PaintCare also broadens opportunities for contractors looking to recycle. Twenty-seven stores began serving as PaintCare drop off locations yesterday. By the end of the year, more than 90 collection sites will be available statewide. A complete list is available at www.paintcare.org.Two recycling facilities — Amazon Environmental in Riverside, California, and a Portland facility owned by regional government Metro — will sort and filter the collected paint to create fresh products through PaintCare.

The recycled paint is sold as MetroPaint locally. Miller Paint has exclusive marketing rights to MetroPaint in Oregon and Washington. Amazon Environmental sells its Select Recycled Content Paint through Ace Hardware in three states: Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is also marketed as Recover paint in Southwestern states.

Lee van der Voo, lvdvoo*at*gmail.com, is a freelance writer for Sustainable Business Oregon.