Closing the Paint Loop in CA - Strength of Partnerships Drive Program's Decade of Success
Track
Reuse
Session Description
As with many painting projects, latex paint is often purchased in greater quantities than needed. California's Paint Stewardship Program was developed to reduce, reuse, and recycle paint collected within the state. PaintCare celebrates 10 years of success, as an industry-led, statewide program that follows producer responsibility principles to reduce the generation of leftover paint, promote its reuse, and properly manage unwanted leftover paint.
PaintCare provides outreach to households and businesses with an effort to divert their unwanted, leftover paint to a PaintCare drop-off site instead of landfills. With over 834 year-round drop-off sites, partnerships with local paint retail stores, and household hazardous waste centers, over 29.3 million gallons of paint have been collected. Through PaintCare’s partnerships with Recyclers and Reuse Programs, the program has closed the loop on recycling paint.
Moderated Carmen Zuniga, Program Director for ACTenviro. ACTenviro is a nationally-recognized environmental and hazardous waste management firm, one of the top 100 recyclers in the United States, servicing small businesses to local, state, and federal government agencies. This session will present a review of the last 10-years of success of the PaintCare California Program, and the future of the program, reuse, and recycled-content products within the paint industry.
Speakers
Nichole Dorr, PaintCare
Title
California Program Manager
Speaker Abstract
Nichole Dorr will present an overview of PaintCare’s California program to date. She will cover the successes of the program over the last 10 years; including the setup of over 820 year-round paint drop-off sites consisting of paint retailers, municipal household hazardous waste (HHW) facilities, solid waste transfer stations, and other voluntary locations to create a network of convenient paint drop-off points in California. The program provided access to a year-round site within 15 miles for 99% of the state’s population, exceeding the target of 90%. Over the last ten years, the program has collected over 29.3 million gallons of paint. Nichole will also review the program's increased community outreach activities, expansion of reuse efforts, and the recent fee decrease for consumers at point-of-purchase.
Lisa Thompson, Riverside County Department of Waste Resources
Title
Environmental Compliance Manager
Speaker Abstract
Lisa Thompson will talk about the progress and challenges associated with building a robust waste management system in Riverside County. Lisa will provide an overview of Riverside County’s permanent Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Facilities, temporary HHW Events, community outreach programs like e-waste collection, appliance collection, mattress recycling, and the success of Riverside’s 5 Drop & Shop Reuse stores. Finally, Lisa will touch on how Riverside County’s partnership with PaintCare has successfully diverted paint from landfills to recycle it and provide a close loop to county residents with their reuse stores.
Brian Brittain, Acrylatex Coatings and Recycling
Title
CEO