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PaintCare used leftover (‘reuse’) and recycled-content paint to create a mural at its exhibit at the American Coatings Show (ACS).
Over the course of the three-day event, ACS attendees were invited to join in and paint a small section of the mural to show support for the industry’s forward-thinking initiative in establishing PaintCare, a non-profit paint stewardship organisation that plans and operates programmes that encourage the public to buy the right amount of architectural paint for their projects, to use up leftovers, and to recycle the rest.
"The mural expresses the industry’s pride in having taken on the challenge of managing leftover house paint,” said Marjaneh Zarrehparvar, Executive Director of PaintCare.
"Before PaintCare, it was difficult for most people to find a place to recycle leftover latex paint, and oil-based paint had to be taken to household hazardous waste facilities for disposal.
"Now, there are more than 1780 paint drop-off locations in eight states and the District of Columbia where the public can recycle leftover paint without charge all year round.”
Show attendees were encouraged to visit the mural at different times during the event to see the evolution of the mural.
The mural was created using leftover house paint made available via reuse programmes, as well as recycled-content paint.
The mural was painted under the direction of Caitlin Alexander, an Artist from Colorado (a state with a PaintCare programme).
Following the show, the mural will be transported to PaintCare headquarters in Washington, DC, where it will be displayed to raise awareness about paint stewardship and to recognise the industry’s achievement in establishing an effective and cost-efficient paint recycling programme.
Most PaintCare drop-off locations are at paint and hardware stores where households and businesses can get rid of leftover latex and oil-based paint during regular business hours.
PaintCare also partners with government-run household hazardous waste (HHW) and solid waste facilities to cover their costs of managing leftover paint—saving local governments money.
In addition to setting up paint drop-off locations, PaintCare offers a free large volume pick-up service for individuals, businesses, or organisations with 200 or more gallons of leftover paint.
It is estimated that approximately 10% of all architectural paint sold in the USA each year is leftover—or 78M gallons.
Since beginning operations in 2010, PaintCare has collected more than 27M gallons of leftover architectural paint, stain, and varnish in eight states.
Most paint collected is manufactured into recycled-content paint, while some is burned for fuel, distributed to the public through reuse programmes, or used for another beneficial purpose.
Only a small amount of paint is unusable and landfilled.
