By Jamie Winter
In partnership with Colorado Recycles Week — November 14-18 — PaintCare is hosting Paint Recycling Day across the state on Friday, November 18 to encourage those with leftover paint to recycle it and to educate households and businesses about the paint stewardship program. Colorado Recycles Week is a week-long event that was started by Governor Jared Polis in 2019 to emphasize the importance of reusing, recycling, and diverting recyclable materials from the waste stream. PaintCare is the nonprofit organization created by the paint industry to operate paint stewardship programs in Colorado and other states that have passed paint stewardship laws.
“While PaintCare works with drop-off sites across the state to collect leftover paint year-round, we are excited to host the state’s first Paint Recycling Day for Coloradans that will focus special attention on this common recyclable material during Colorado Recycles Week,” said Kevin Lynch, PaintCare program manager in Colorado. “We have already processed more than 5 million gallons of paint, stain, and varnish in Colorado since the program began in 2015, and we hope that through Paint Recycling Day we can raise even more awareness about paint recycling in Colorado.”
The organization is a successful example of how producer responsibility is already working in Colorado to save local governments money by taking the burden of managing paint off of cities and counties, ensuring equitable access to most Coloradans, and responsibly diverting a recyclable material out of landfills. In fact, it is estimated by the EPA that as much as 10 percent of all architectural paint goes unused, and PaintCare provides a solution to that problem in Colorado and the other states that have adopted it.
Paint collection, transportation, processing and public education is funded by a small fee, called the PaintCare fee, placed on all sales of paint products covered by the program in the state. Products covered by the PaintCare program and accepted for drop-off are defined as interior and exterior architectural coatings sold in containers of five gallons or smaller, including house paint and primers (latex or oil-based), stains, deck and concrete sealers and clear finishes (e.g., varnishes, shellac).
How can Coloradans participate in Paint Recycling Day?
Drop off your paint at a local drop-off site. Through PaintCare’s network of centrally located sites, the PaintCare program provides convenient options for households and businesses to drop off paint for recycling. PaintCare arranges for leftover paint to be transported from the drop-off sites and processed according to “highest, best use” – ensuring that as much leftover paint as possible is reused or recycled. Two Pagosa Springs locations are listed on the PaintCare website: Sherwin Williams and Terry’s ACE.
Request a Large Volume Pickup. If you have a large amount of unwanted paint (100+ gallons), PaintCare offers a free service to painting contractors, property managers, and others with large amount of leftover architectural paint. Learn more and submit a request on PaintCare’s Large Volume Pickup website.
Learn more about PaintCare’s accepted products. Accepted paint products must be in a sealed, original container with the original manufacturer label. PaintCare does not accept aerosol products (spray cans), industrial maintenance (IM), original equipment manufacturer (OEM), or specialty coatings. Visit paintcare.org/products for a complete list of accepted and unaccepted products.
About PaintCare in Colorado
PaintCare is committed to making it easy and convenient for households, businesses, and institutions to recycle postconsumer (leftover) paint in states with paint stewardship laws. A nonprofit organization created by paint manufacturers, PaintCare sets up drop-off locations for leftover paint, arranges for recycling and proper disposal, and conducts public education. More than 5 million gallons of paint, stain, and varnish have been managed by PaintCare’s Colorado program since its launch in 2015. For additional information, visit www.paintcare.org, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @WeRecyclePaint
Jamie Winter writes for Winter Public Relations.