|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Land Quality |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Solid Waste |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DEQ Home > Land Quality > Solid Waste > Product Stewardship > Paint | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Product StewardshipPaintOregon has become the first state in the nation to enact a law requiring paint manufacturers to safely manage leftover latex and oil-based paint from consumer and contractor painting jobs. This historic product stewardship legislation responds to the problem of managing leftover paint -- the largest component of local household hazardous waste collection programs. An estimated 10 percent of the more than 750 million gallons of architectural paint sold each year in the United States is unused. This difficult-to-manage waste can be captured for reuse, recycling, energy recovery, or safe disposal, but doing so requires public awareness and a convenient and effective local infrastructure, currently beyond most local budgets and capacity.The new paint stewardship law, signed July 23, 2009, is expected to result in the proper management of an estimated 800,000 gallons of leftover paint each year and to provide Oregon governments with service valued at over $6 million. Paint recycling will be more convenient throughout the state, particularly in areas where local governments do not offer paint recycling opportunities. Governments that currently collect leftover paint will realize a direct financial savings. Communities that are currently underserved will see new services. Under the new law, the paint industry will set up a program to reduce paint waste, increase reuse and recycling, and safely dispose of remaining unusable paint. Costs for safely managing leftover paint will be incorporated in the purchase price of new paint. This new law ties into the wider producer responsibility movement, in which Oregon is a national leader. Producer responsibility means manufacturers take responsibility to reduce the life cycle impacts of a product, including internalizing the end-of-life management costs, rather than having government set up and fund collection programs for waste products. The U.S. movement has resulted in 19 state electronics laws (including Oregon E-Cycles), seven state thermostat laws, one fluorescent lamp law, and several laws on batteries and auto switches. The law requires the program begin no later than July 2010, but since the Oregon law will serve as a demonstration for other states, we expect collection to begin sooner. DEQ and the paint industry have been meeting, and we expect a plan to be submitted to DEQ for approval in February 2010.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
For more information about DEQ's Land Quality Division and its programs, see the contact page. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Projects and Programs Publications and Forms Laws and Regulations Public Notices Permits and Licenses Databases |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About DEQ | Contact DEQ | Sitemap | Feedback |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||