[IMG]http://simplefeed.consumerreports.org/rsrc/i/1/_/minnesota_bill_would_require_manufacturers_to_se_8 97748700/4.gif?f=3dcb3160-01dc-11dc-32a2-0019bbc55f7f&s=AewyNia7NTvDvhaDemju5DEsbnVsbCwwLDA *[/IMG] Minnesota bill would require manufacturers to set up paint-recycling program
Proposed legislation in Minnesota would require paint manufacturers to set up a recycling program for leftover consumer paint in that state. (Visit our paint hub for information on interior and exterior finishes.)
The bill, S.F. No. 477, is similar to legislation passed by the state senate in 2008. Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed that bill, concerned that the cost of the program would be passed onto to consumers. "Requiring Minnesotan consumers to pay for both public and industry based programs results in a double burden on consumers for the same purpose," Pawlenty wrote in a May 2008 letter to the state senate.
Under the new plan, "All the costs will be passed onto the consumer, but it will be done in a transparent way" says Alison Keane, spokeswoman for the National Paint & Coatings Association, of this product-stewardship effort. She adds that the notion of a roughly 40-cents-per-gallon surcharge has been well received in consumer surveys. (Product stewardship, says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "calls on those in the product life cycle?manufacturers, retailers, users, and disposers?to share responsibility for reducing the environmental impacts of products.")
Consumers in British Columbia, Canada, have been paying for paint recycling since 1994. Residents of that province now think of leftover paint as they do of newspaper and plastic bottles. "Once you get used to recycling paint, it's hard to throw it in the garbage" says Mark Kushner, president of Product Care, the nonprofit association that manages many of Canada's product-stewardship programs for hazardous household materials. In 2008, 700,000 gallons of leftover paint were returned to the 105 collection sites throughout B.C. "Every year we bring in 10 percent more than the year before," says Kushner. "The basement reservoir is gradually being emptied."
In this country, about 10 percent of all purchased paint goes unused, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That's 64 million gallons of paint, enough to cover the five boroughs of New York City about three times. Many communities offer recycling programs for paint, typically drop-off centers for finishes and other hazardous materials. Some programs go one step further by filtering the paint and reselling it to the public. Read "What to Do With Leftover Paint" for more details.
The Minnesota legislation would give manufacturers until September 1, 2009, to start a paint-recycling pilot program, and on October 15, 2010, they'll be required to submit a report detailing the results so far, including how much paint was recycled and at what cost to the consumer.?Daniel DiClerico

Essential information: Read our March 2009 report on interior paint, which rates more than 40 products and covers the issue of low-VOC finishes.
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