Dive Brief:
- A New Jersey state bill to create a house paint recycling program recently was approved by the state’s senate. If it becomes law, the legislation will fund the program through a tax added to wholesale prices for paint.
- Retailers are against the proposed recycling program, which would be funded through revenues gained by a small tax on each can of paint sold. The state’s "architectural paint stewardship" program would collect and recycle unused house paint.
- The brainchild of paint manufacturers, this program is an attempt by such firms as Montvale, NJ-based Benjamin Moore to start their own paint recycling program, rather than waiting for the government to mandate one, according to Alison Keane, vice-president of government affairs for American Coatings Association, based in Washington, DC.
Dive Insight:
This legislation is meant to keep paint from ending up in landfills, where it can pollute the environment. Through such a program as is proposed by the legislation, old paint can be recycled into new paint or other architectural products. In other states, similar programs cost about $1 per resident, Keane said.