Cans of Sherwin-Williams brand paint are seen at a hardware store in New York on Monday, March 21, 2016.
SEATTLE, Wash. – A new Washington paint recycling program collected more than 580,000 gallons of paint in its first nine months of operation.
The program, run by the nonprofit organization PaintCare, aims to provide Washingtonians with a place to recycle leftover paint, stain, varnish and other paint products for free. So far, the program has collected enough junk to cover the entire McCarthey Athletic Center with 1,571 new coats of paint.
“It is estimated that around 10% of all household paint is thrown away and can end up in landfills. The people of Washington have chosen to convert this waste into a beneficial resource,” said Brett Rodgers, director of communications at PaintCare. “From day one, households and businesses across the state have been engaged in recycling efforts. We owe a huge thank you to all of our partners who helped launch this program. The outpouring of community support has been immense.
Washingtonians have already donated a total of 581,363 gallons of paint in 9 months, and now one year into the program, PaintCare estimates they’ve received about 842,000 gallons. By recycling this paint, PaintCare benefits the environment by diverting the paint from the Washington waste stream and reusing and recycling it in communities across the state.
“These programs allow us to put paint back on the shelves, protect the environment and save local governments millions of dollars each year,” Rodgers said. “We’re proud of the progress we’ve made so far and look forward to continuing to work with our partners to safely and responsibly recycle even more paint in Washington State.”
If you have unwanted paint that you want to drop off, you can use the PaintCare site locator here.
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