ALBANY, NY  – A new paint recycling program that began May 1 in New York State invites households, schools and businesses to recycle leftover paint, stain and varnish conveniently and sustainably. The program is operated by PaintCare, a nonprofit organization created by the paint industry through the American Coatings Association (ACA) to manage leftover paint in states that have enacted paint stewardship laws. PaintCare plans to expand to over 300 drop-off sites across New York State in the coming months through partnerships with paint retail stores and local government facilities. New York’s paint recycling program comes in the wake of a paint stewardship law that was passed by the State Legislature in 2019.

“We’re excited to launch our paint stewardship program in New York State so that households, businesses and institutions can drop off leftover paint at their convenience, all year long,” said Andrew Radin, PaintCare’s New York Program Manager. “We’re grateful for the important role that paint and hardware stores, as well as local government facilities, will play in making sure this environmental initiative is successful by voluntarily serving as drop-off sites. We look forward to adding additional partners in the coming months as we aim to recover and recycle over one million gallons of leftover paint each year.”

PaintCare has launched successful programs across the country following passage of similar laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maine, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

The new program is expected to manage more than 1.1 million gallons of paint in its first year. In New York, 36.6 million gallons of paint are sold annually, and it is estimated that about 10% of household paint goes unused. PaintCare helps ensure the “highest, best use” for paint collected in the program, including giving away good quality material as-is, recycling it or putting it to another beneficial use. Most of the paint PaintCare receives is latex-based and can be remixed into recycled content paint by processors. To date, PaintCare has processed more than 50 million gallons of paint nationally and saved state and local governments millions of dollars.

“We are so pleased that paint recycling is now a reality for New York,” said Dawn Timm, chair of the New York Product Stewardship Council. “This program is a big step forward for product stewardship in the state. It’s also a testament to the dedication and perseverance of a diverse set of New York stakeholders from government, industry, and nonprofit communities.”

Learn more at www.paintcare.org/NY, www.productstewardship.us and www.paintcare.org.