In honor of Earth Day, a national nonprofit will be hosting a paint recycling event for Long Island residents and businesses.
PaintCare, a nonprofit organization formed through the American Coatings Association industry trade group, will hold the free event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 22 at Farmingdale State College.
People can drop off their leftover household paints to PaintCare, which helps to ensure the “highest and best use” for paint collected in the program, including giving away good quality material, recycling it, or putting it to another beneficial use, according to an organization statement.
PaintCare accepts both latex- and oil-based architectural paint products, including paints, stains, sealers, and varnishes. Paint must be dropped off in its original container with its original manufacturer’s label. No leaking, unlabeled, or empty containers will be accepted. There are no restrictions on how much paint a household can bring to the event.
“Earth Day is the perfect time to take a look at that leftover paint you may have accumulated over the years and make a point of recycling it,” Sandra Vera, PaintCare New York program coordinator, said in the statement. “PaintCare makes it simple and easy to, and this is a nice local event to kickstart some of your spring-cleaning effort. We are truly grateful for the partnership with Farmingdale State College as events like this, really drive home the importance of paint stewardship – especially purchasing the right amount of paint, re-using what you can, and ultimately, recycling what you have left.”
To use the Prop-off events for oil-based paint, businesses must qualify as an exempt generator under federal and any analogous state hazardous waste generator rules.
“We’re pleased to welcome PaintCare, a nonprofit organization that partners with NYS DEC, to our campus. PaintCare’s free paint recycling drop-off event is great for the community and the environment alike, and helps demonstrate to our students the importance of working toward greater sustainability,” Maia E Roseval, of the Office for Sustainability at Farmingdale College, said in the statement. “We encourage you to come celebrate Earth Day with us on Saturday. Get a head start on spring cleaning and properly recycle that paint you’ve been storing the environmentally responsible way.”
There is no cost when dropping off paint for recycling. A small fee on the sale of new paint funds all aspects of the program including paint collection, transportation, processing, and public education. The PaintCare fee in New York varies by container size: $0.45 for larger than half pint up to smaller than one gallon; $0.95 for one to two gallons; $1.95 for larger than two gallons up to five gallons.
New York’s paint recycling program comes in the wake of a paint stewardship law that was passed by the state legislature in 2019. The nonprofit organization expanded into New York on May 1, 2022 and since then, established more than 275 drop-off sites across the state and collected more than 600,000 gallons.
So far, more than 62 million gallons of paint, stain, and varnish have been managed by PaintCare in 10 states and the District of Columbia.
For more information on the program visit the website at paintcare.org.
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David Winzelberg
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