Policies & Legislation

Paint and Product Stewardship

Northwest States

Washington SB 6145, and its companion HB 2540 (PDF), was introduced in January 2012 at the initiative of the paint industry American Coatings Association (ACA) but did not receive a floor vote and is now dead. The bill would have created a collection program for the recycling or proper disposal of unwanted architectural paint in Washington state that can be used by any household or business for latex paint and any household or conditionally exempt small quantity generator for oil-based paint.

The program would be run by a paint stewardship organization on behalf of paint manufacturers who would fund the program through an assessment on paint. No fee would be charged to the users of the paint program at the time the paint is brought in for recycling. The paint stewardship organization would submit a program plan to the Department of Ecology by April 1, 2014. Program implementation would begin on July 1, 2014 or three months after approval of the paint stewardship program plan.

The bill specifies that there be "reasonably convenient" and available statewide collection of leftover paint. Collection convenience and availability of permanent collection locations will be determined based on distance, population and hours of operation. Participation as a collection site is voluntary. Collections sites can be paint retailers, government-run Moderate Risk Waste (MRW) facilities or other organizations meeting the operating criteria.

The stewardship organization would provide educational materials about the program that would be distributed to the public by paint retailers. The program would be overseen and enforced by the Department of Ecology. Read the Senate Bill Report (PDF) for a summary of activity.

Oregon HB 3037, enacted in 2009 and amended in 2011 as HB 2191, requires manufacturers of architectural paint to establish and finance an environmentally sound and cost-effective paint stewardship pilot program. Manufacturers must participate through a stewardship organization, which is responsible for implementing the statewide pilot program no later than July 1, 2010.

Paint stewardship pilot program plans must be approved by the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality prior to implementation. Required program components include developing and implementing strategies to reduce the generation of postconsumer paint, promoting the reuse of postconsumer paint, and managing postconsumer paint end-of-life through collection, transportation, and processing.

Stewardship organizations would be funded by manufacturers through a uniform paint stewardship assessment approved by the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality. The assessment must be included in the cost of all architectural paint sold to Oregon retailers and distributors. Retailers and distributors are required to include the assessment in the purchase price of all architectural paint sold in the state.

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is responsible for supervising the conduct of stewardship organizations, monitoring the program, and reporting results to the Legislature. DEQ submitted its first annual report to the legislature in November 2011, along with recommendations to improve and make the program permanent. Stewardship organizations are required to pay fees to the Department of Environmental Quality to cover administrative costs related to the architectural paint stewardship pilot program. This bill (originally HF 3037) passed out of the House and the Senate and was signed by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski on July 23, 2009.

For more information, please see the Oregon DEQ Paint Stewardship Program site. Also see the Product Stewardship Institute fact sheet (PDF file, 625KB) and the Oregon Paint Bill press release (PDF file, 310KB).

California AB 1343, signed into law in 2010, requires manufacturers of architectural paint to establish and finance an architectural paint recovery program. A manufacturer of architectural paint solid in California must, individually or through a stewardship organization, submit an architectural paint stewardship plan on or before April 1, 2012 for approval by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). Plans must be implemented three months after approval by the department. Required program components include developing and implementing strategies to reduce the generation of postconsumer paint, promoting the reuse of postconsumer paint, and managing postconsumer paint end-of-life through collection, transportation, processing, and disposal.

Paint stewardship programs are funded by manufacturers through a uniform paint stewardship assessment approved by CalRecycle. The assessment must be added to the cost of all architectural paint sold to California retailers and distributors. Retailers and distributors would be required to add the assessment to the purchase price of all architectural paint sold in the state.

CalRecycle is responsible for monitoring paint stewardship programs and enforcing compliance. Manufacturers or stewardship organizations are required to pay fees to the department to cover administrative costs.

Introduced in 2009, AB 1343 passed the California legislature and was approved by the Governor in 2010. See the CalRecycle website for more information on their Paint Stewardship Program and law.

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