The agreement to involve Green Seal came out of a project funded by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, San Joaquin County in California; Portland Metro in Oregon; and the Dunn-Edwards Corp., as one of 11 projects spearheaded by the Paint Product Stewardship Initiative (PPSI). PPSI is a dialogue facilitated by PSI that includes more than 60 stakeholders, including paint manufacturers; recyclers; painting contractors; and federal, state and local government agencies. PSI organized the initiative in 2003 around the issue of reducing paint waste.

Consumer concern over paint performance is one of the greatest impediments to increasing the use of recycled paint. In addition to consumer applications, this effort could boost the use of recycled paint by federal, state and local governments. The Master Painters Institute (MPI), a nationally recognized paint-performance certification organization, is working with Green Seal on the performance portion of the standard. When the national standard for recycled paint is final, consumers will be given an independent certification of recycled paint's performance characteristics, which will lead to better-informed purchasing decisions. The proposed standard will take into account the quality, performance and safety of recycled paint, as well as environmental attributes.

Recycled paint incorporates unused paint collected from consumers as well as excess from the original paint-manufacturing process, thereby reducing the disposal of paint. Creating a Green Seal certification for recycled paint could have the two-fold effect of increasing the demand for recycled paint and saving taxpayer disposal dollars.

After Green Seal completes the standard, the organization will embark on a testing program for paints submitted for certification by manufacturers. Paints that meet the standard will earn the Green Seal of approval and will be able to display the Green Seal Certification Mark, which is a registered mark.