Paint

Leftover consumer paint is a high volume, costly, and wasted resource. Oil base paint is highly toxic and can have detrimental health and environmental impacts.

Illinois passed the paint stewardship act in July 2023.

Volume: An estimated 64 million gallons of leftover consumer paint was generated in the U.S. in 2000.

Cost: The Paint Product Stewardship Initiative (PPSI) has estimated the cost for local governments to manage leftover consumer paint averages approximately $8 per gallon.

Waste: Due to the high cost of managing leftover paint, some local governments have decided to not accept latex paint, which makes up 70-80% of leftover paint. Leftover paint is a resource that still has value when made into recycled-content paint (RCP) – which reduces the amount of raw materials that need to be extracted and processed to manufacture new virgin paint.

Toxicity: Oil-based paints are highly toxic and can harm fish and wildlife, as well as pollute groundwater if dumped on the ground. If used in closed areas, volatile organic compounds in paints can irritate eyes, skin, and lungs and cause headaches and nausea. They can also contribute to asthma, other respiratory problems, muscle weakness, and liver and kidney damage. Latex paints are less toxic and not considered hazardous, but excess paint should not be poured down the drain.

Product Stewardship Benefits

Benefits of the paint stewardship act SB 836 in Illinois include:

• Reduced government costs
• More recycling opportunities
• Green sector jobs – more in-state jobs are created in the paint industry
• Less disposal, more recycling – more paint is diverted from disposal facilities and recycled, which helps the State reach its recycling goals
• Less waste – the industry educates the public to buy the right amount of paint for a project and reduce waste

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