The paint manufacturers have teamed with the state to craft the law and want to use the program as a model for a national effort to reduce the amount of paint in landfills, the Statesman Journal reported. The industry expects that the federal government will eventually mandate such programs, and would rather design it themselves.
The world is kind of moving that way and the paint industry knows that, said Palmer Mason, a legislative analyst with the state Department of Environmental Quality.
Bills addressing take-back programs for rechargeable batteries, mercury lighting and pharmaceuticals have failed to advance this session because of industry resistance.
Though manufacturers will pay for the program, the consumers will finally bear the cost. The price of paint could increase by 30 cents to 40 cents per gallon, Mason said.
The details about the proposed paint program, including price, scope and collection locations, have yet to be worked out. Recycling sites are expected to include paint stores and transfer stations.
We’ve been doing this in Canada for 12 years now. We know how to recover all our products, said Ted Hughes, the director of Pacific Northwest Paint Council and a lobbyist for the paint and coatings industry.
