New York county expands paint recycling program

The Sullivan County Department of Solid Waste & Recycling in New York has expanded its partnership with PaintCare, Washington, and launched a paint recycling program at the Monticello Transfer Station.

Every Sullivan County, New York-operated transfer station will now serve as a drop-off site for PaintCare’s statewide paint recycling program, which allows households and businesses to recycle leftover paint, stain and varnish.

New York’s paint recycling program comes in the wake of a paint stewardship law passed by the State Legislature in 2019, ensuring paint producers, sellers and users work to minimize, reuse and recycle unwanted paint.

PaintCare is a nonprofit organization created and led by paint companies through the American Coatings Association (ACA) to manage leftover paint in states that have enacted paint stewardship laws

“We are thrilled to be expanding our paint stewardship program further into Sullivan County so that households, businesses and institutions can easily dispose of paint responsibly and sustainably,” says Andrew Radin, PaintCare’s New York program manager. “We’re grateful for the important role that our partners play in making sure this initiative is successful.”

The transfer stations accept latex- and oil-based architectural paint products, including paints, stains, sealers and varnishes. Paint must be dropped off in its original container with its original manufacturer’s label.

PaintCare says there is no cost to residents and businesses when dropping off unwanted paint for recycling. A fee on the sale of new paint—called the PaintCare fee—funds all aspects of the program, including paint collection, transportation, processing and public education. The PaintCare fee in New York varies by container size: no fee for half-pint or smaller; $0.45 for larger than half-pint up to smaller than 1 gallon; $0.95 for 1 gallon up to 2 gallons; $1.95 for larger than 2 gallons up to 5 gallons.

PaintCare establishes drop-off sites at local government facilities and paint and hardware retailers near residential neighborhoods. These locations can be found through PaintCare’s online site locator.

Businesses, organizations and households with 100 gallons of paint or more to recycle may request a free pickup at their location.

According to PaintCare, the program has already collected more than 1 million gallons of paint since it began. PaintCare says most of the paint it receives is latex-based and can be remixed into recycled content paint by processors.