Disposing of unwanted and unused paint is expensive. According to the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), "the cost for municipalities to manage leftover consumer paint averages $8 per gallon, making paint a half a billion dollar per year management cost." In fact, more than 60% of the volume and cost of Household Hazardous Waste disposal on Cape Cod is oil-based paints. 

As the result of these high costs, several states have changed how they manage unused paint and enacted Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), or Paint Stewardship programs. EPR is a strategy to create a shared responsibility for end-of-life product management on the producers, and all entities involved in the product chain, instead of the general public. This allows the costs of treatment and disposal to be incorporated into the total cost of a product and places primary responsibility on the producer, or brand owner, who makes design and marketing decisions.*

The Cape Cod Cooperative Extension was awarded a $30,000 Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP) grant to evaluate new methods for paint disposal in Massachusetts. Three stakeholder meetings held across the state will be integral to the success of the grant. These regional meetings will be designed to provide an educational forum for those that want to learn more about the management of unwanted and unused paint and how that system is changing across the country. There are many different stakeholders from retail stores to local paint recyclers to municipalities that all need to contribute to the conversation to make this work.

Mike Maguire from the Cooperative Extension will be working with PSI to facilitate these meetings and will be reaching out to towns for input.

* http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/epr/