Dive Brief:
- Maryland is now the 12th state to kick off its paint stewardship program. As of April 1, residents can recycle leftover paint, stain and varnish at a range of drop-off sites.
- The program is operated by PaintCare, a nonprofit organization created by paint companies through the American Coatings Association. It will manage the collection in partnership with drop-off locations like paint stores, hardware stores and municipal government facilities.
- The program is funded in part by a fee on new paint sales, with costs ranging from 50 cents to $2.25 a container, depending on size. No fee will be added to containers a half pint or smaller. Officials expect Maryland’s PaintCare program will manage about 350,000 gallons of paint in its first year.
Dive Insight:
Paint stewardship programs are growing in popularity across the country. Maryland is the latest state to adopt paint EPR through the PaintCare program. Illinois adopted a similar program in December, joining the District of Columbia and 10 other states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
“The implementation of this program means that we’re keeping harmful materials out of our landfills, incinerators, and waterways while building a cleaner, more circular economy for our state,” said state delegate Regina Boyce in prepared remarks during an event announcing the program on Tuesday.
The program is managed by the Maryland Department of the Environment. PaintCare will take care of logistics such as paint collection and transportation, as well as public outreach about the program.
Maryland first passed its paint stewardship law in 2024 with the support of groups like the Product Stewardship Institute and the Sierra Club’s Maryland Chapter. The law requires certain architectural paint producers, distributors or retailers to participate in the EPR program, which is meant to promote environmentally responsible end-of-life paint management, including through reuse and recycling.
The law also calls for establishing accessible paint drop-off sites, with at least 90% of residents having access to a site within a 15-mile radius. PaintCare’s interactive map shows more than 90 options as of April 1, with plans to offer more than 100 locations over time.
“Paint and hardware retailers across Maryland, along with local government partners, play such a critical role in making this program possible,” said Jacob Saffert, PaintCare’s director of Eastern states, in a statement.
PaintCare says it has managed about 85 million gallons of paint, stain and varnish among these programs across the country. PaintCare aims to recycle or reuse the majority of paint it collects, according to program organizers. Most of the collected material is latex paint that processors can remix into recycled content products, it said.
More state legislatures are exploring bills to adopt similar programs in 2026, including in Missouri. However, the governor of New Hampshire recently vetoed a bill that would have created a program in that state, saying it would create an added tax for residents. The proposed program there garnered strong support from haulers like Casella, as well as other recycling groups.
PaintCare programs are a way to provide residents with year-round options for safely managing paint, said Michael Johnson, American Coatings Association’s CEO, in a statement. That means residents don’t have to wait for a special event such as a community drop-off day.
This story first appeared in the Waste Dive: Recycling newsletter. Sign up for the weekly emails here.
