Paint manufacturers and retailers are using product stewardship principles to design and market their products to create minimal impact on the environment and to reduce wasted paint during and after the life of the product. Manufacturers, retailers, and others can make a difference through:

Education

Manufacturers and retailers can better educate the public on the importance of purchasing only what is needed for a painting project to reduce the amount of leftover paint that must be managed. The PPSI stakeholder group has examined how to do this more effectively.

Design

Encourage more manufacturers to produce small packets of sample size paints rather than the most common pint size, seen in most retail locations. This would also reduce the amount of leftover paint to be managed. Continue moving away from oil-based paints to latex for improved ecosystem and human health. Further reduce the VOC content of paints to the extent feasible.

Product Take Back

Manufacturers and retailers, along with current public infrastructure and other community members, provide take-back locations for leftover paint.

Recycling and Conserving Resources

Make recycling of leftover paint the top priority for its end-of-life management. This would reduce the amount of raw materials and energy needed for the manufacturing of new paint.

Promoting the Recycled Content Paint (RCP) Quality Assurance Standard

To encourage and promote the recycling of leftover paint, consumers have to be confident in the paint’s performance. The Paint Product Stewardship Initiative group has been instrumental in funding the creation of a new recycled-paint standard, known as the Green Seal Standard for Recycled Latex Paint: GS-43(PDF). Use of this specification should be broadly promoted by all professional and institutional paint purchasers as well as paint retailers and manufacturers.

Legislation

Support legislation which includes product stewardship solutions that address anti-trust and related issues that enable the PPSI national product stewardship solutions.

Market Development

Manufacturers and retailers advertise and sell recycled paint in their retail stores. To effectively close the loop on recycling paint, there needs to be significant market demand for the end product at an average price that supports the recycling system plus reasonable profit.