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Hey Oregonians! It’s that time of year again… the time when we all start to get our homes all cozy and ready for indoor company. I personally am looking forward to Fall and giving some areas in my home a fresh coat of house paint. So far we have plans for two full bathroom remodels. I think my favorite part of any room spruce up is the new paint. I think I love it the most because for about $50 you can give any room a whole new look and feel.
Since we Oregonians are so in touch with our environment, your paint project doesn’t end with the last paint stroke…. Did you know there are PaintCare dropoff sites where you can recycle your unused paint for ….all for NO CHARGE?
How To Recycle Your Old Paint
In July 2010, Oregon started the PaintCare paint stewardship program, and it currently has 170 drop-off sites. The process is easy, instead of holding on to gallons of unused paint in your shed or garage and waiting for that hazard collection day your community or garbage service offers once or twice a year, you can simply go to a participating drop-off site. Most consist of paint retailers (paint, hardware, home improvement stores). These sites accept house paint, primer, stains, sealers, and clear coatings (e.g., shellac and varnish) even if it is 30 years old at NO CHARGE to you! This program was the first paint stewardship program in the U.S. The amount of paint recycled and government money saved is incredible, so much that they have replicated this program in 7 other states and DC.
●California
●Colorado
●Connecticut
●District of Columbia
●Maine
●Minnesota
●Oregon
●Vermont
●Rhode Island
I have personally used this service a good handful of times now and can’t tell you how simple it is… plus you are helping the environment, saving clutter, and being a piece of the greater
picture. You may be asking, “How can PaintCare do all this with no collection fee?” Well, there is a fee at the front end. PaintCare funded by the “PaintCare Fee” which is added to the purchase price of paint sold in Oregon. This very small fee is used to fund all aspects of the paint stewardship program which include: Paint collection, transportation, recycling, public outreach, program administration, and to manage old “legacy” paint (paint that has been accumulating in homes and businesses before the program started. If you have bought paint anytime within the last
several years, this fee was already added, and since it is so small you most likely didn’t even notice.