CPCA Notes Success of Paint Recycling Programs in Canada
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian paint and coatings industry has been a leader in post-consumer paint recycling for more than 25 years, with the first program launched under Product Care in British Columbia in 1994. Since the Canada-wide Action Plan on Waste, initiated by the Canadian Council of Ministers on the Environment (CCME), all 10 Provinces have paint-recycling programs for most of the past 10 years under provincial legislation. “We are very pleased with the full support our manufacturer members have shown for paint recycling right across Canada,” commented Richard Tremblay of Benjamin Moore and Chair of Canadian Paint and Coatings Association (CPCA). These paint-recycling programs exist in all 10 provinces, with eight of these programs run by Product Care, including the large programs in Ontario and British Columbia. Ecopeinture and Alberta Recycling Management Authority operate the other two paint-recycling programs in Quebec and Alberta, respectively.
Under Provincial laws, paint and coatings manufacturers pay 100% of the cost of paint recycling, relieving the financial burden on municipalities and ratepayers. All these paint programs are meeting or exceeding targets for waste recovery and recycling. The manufacturers are the “obligated stewards” under these provincial programs, and without the full commitment of those companies there would be no paint recycling in Canada. To date, the total cost to paint manufacturers for all these programs across Canada since inception is approximately $450 million, $200 million of that amount in the Province of Ontario alone since 2010.