PaintCare, Inc. is a non-profit

product stewardship Product stewardship is an approach to managing the environmental impacts of different products and materials and at different stages in their production, use and disposal. It acknowledges that those involved in producing, selling, using and dispos ...

organization created by th
American Coatings Association
to administer paint stewardship programs. In states that pass paint stewardship laws PaintCare establishes drop-off locations where the public can dispose of leftover paint for recycling, re-use, or other appropriate management. It is headquartered in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

History

PaintCare was formed to manage the first U.S. paint stewardship program that began in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

in July 2010. Since then the program has also been established in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. Programs are being planned for New York. PaintCare programs are funded by a

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in cont ...

(another name for a

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

) on the sale of each container of paint sold in the state or jurisdiction. Fees are based on container size and vary by state. The assessment of fees covers costs associated with setting up drop-off locations for

post-consumer Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

architectural coatings Architectural coatings or paints are paints and other coatings used to paint the exteriors and interiors of buildings, often calleexterior wall coatingsor external masonry coatings. Clear varnishes and lacquers are generally excluded. Such pr ...

(includes paint, stain, and varnish) from households and businesses in each state with a program and operating recycling and re-use systems. Most drop-off locations are paint retailers. PaintCare also works with household hazardous waste programs and solid waste transfer stations to cover expenses related to paint transportation, recycling, and disposal of the paint they accept. There is no charge for dropping off paint at a PaintCare location. All sites accept all brands of paint, regardless of how old the paint is.

Awards and Recognitions

In 2016 PaintCare received the Bow&Arrow Award for Service and Take-Back by the California Product Stewardship Council. In 2018 PaintCare received the Environmental Sustainability Leadership Award by the Northeast Recycling Council for its excellence in advancing product stewardship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paintcare Paints Recycling in the United States 501(c)(3) organizations Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Recycling organizations