‘Impressive results’ for Californian paint recycling programme

United States – More than 8.4 million gallons of paint have been collected and processed through the US stewardship programme PaintCare since the initiative was launched in California in 2012.

A total of 776 year-round drop-off locations throughout the state enables households and businesses to recycle leftover paint, PaintCare California reports.

Building on ‘impressive results’, the programme provides 98% of California’s residents with access to a drop-off site within 15 miles (24 km) of their homes, in addition to 16 door-to-door paint pick-up services and 247 organised collection events.

In total, 16% of the paint has been used as fuel and 4% has been reused, recycled back into paint or some other product. PaintCare California has also recycled approximately 1754 tons of plastic and metal paint cans.

The scheme accepts all brands of unwanted house paint, stain and varnish that are labelled and in original containers. It is covered by a fee charged to consumers when purchasing new paint, varying from 35 US cents to US$ 1.6 per container.

‘Our focus on promoting distribution of reusable paint to the public was a great success, with paint reuse increasing 84% over the previous year,’ comments Jeremy Jones, PaintCare’s west coast programme manager. ‘We’re pleased with how well the public has embraced reuse as a complement to our year-round drop-off sites and other services.’