This month, Maryland became the twelfth U.S. state to adopt the PaintCare program, as Governor Wes Moore signed the paint recycling initiative into law. PaintCare is an Industry Partner of the Commercial Painting Industry Association.
The program is reportedly anticipated to begin operation in 2026 with over 100 drop-off sites throughout the states, including in paint and hardware stores. While there is no cost to drop off leftover paint, funding for the program is included as a small fee added to the purchase of new paint.
“As much as 10% of paint purchased goes unused, which means that nearly everyone has leftover paint in their garage or basement,” said Senator Chris West, Senator of the 42nd legislative district in Baltimore County and Senate sponsor. “That’s why I’m pleased to support the new law which will bring the PaintCare program to Maryland and help Marylanders responsibly dispose of all those leftover cans of paint by just taking them to their local paint store and turning them in, at no cost.”
The nonprofit organization reports that, currently, most leftover paint is disposed of in landfills or sits unused until it hardens and becomes unusable. The new program will create a system for collecting thousands of gallons of liquid paint for reuse, recycling and other beneficial use.
“We look forward to building on 15 years of experience in other states to launch a program in Maryland that simultaneously works for the paint industry and meets public demand for convenience, efficiency, and cost effectiveness,” said Heidi McAuliffe, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for the American Coatings Association.
The passed legislation is reportedly based on the “Extended Producer Responsibility” model of assigning the responsibility of collection, reuse, recycling, or disposal of unwanted, leftover material to the manufacturers of those products. The model bill on which it was based was mediated by the Product Stewardship Institute over 15 years ago and has been used as the basis for the 12 other PaintCare programs since that time.
“This law resulted from the collaboration and strong support provided by the paint industry, local governments, paint recyclers, and nonprofit organizations,” said Scott Cassel, Founder and CEO of PSI. “It also took the leadership and perseverance of Maryland’s legislative sponsors to make this program a reality.”
The law adds a small fee to the price of new paint to finance the industry’s management of the program. The fee is based on container size and varies by state. The amount of the fee in Maryland has not yet been set; however, in other PaintCare states, the fee on one- or two-gallon containers ranges from 65 to 99 cents.
PaintCare says it will partner with both paint retail stores and local government sites, which can voluntarily choose to participate as drop-off sites.
According to PaintCare, to date, the program has processed more than 70 million gallons of paint and saved local governments millions of dollars. It also features more than 2,400 voluntary collection sites (77% at retail locations) and provides sites within 15 miles of over 90% of populations served.
The Maryland law was sponsored by Senators West and Ben Brooks and House Delegates Regina T. Boyce, Lorig Charkoudian, Eric Ebersole, Mary A. Lehman, Robbyn Lewis, Dana Stein and Jen Terrasa.
