Posted on 07/07/2012 12:53:56 PM PDT by EBH
Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee has signed into law the nation’s fourth program requiring paint manufacturers to safely manage leftover latex and oil-based paint from households and painting contractors. The legislation was supported by the paint industry and resulted from a multi-stakeholder negotiation facilitated by the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI).
The bill, introduced by Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio and Representative Donna Walsh, will slash tax dollars spent on paint disposal, increase recycling jobs, and reduce waste. Similar laws have also passed in Oregon, California, and Connecticut in 2009, 2010, and 2011 respectively.
“With the new program established in the Paint Producer Responsibility Law, Rhode Island will have convenient options for residents to safely recycle or dispose of unwanted paint by taking it to a participating retailer or household hazardous waste program,” said Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Director Janet Coit. “Thanks to the cooperation of the paint industry, we will be able to increase our recycling, save money for municipalities, and provide a valuable service to our citizens. All at no cost to state taxpayers.”
The EPA estimates that about 10% of all paint purchased in the US becomes leftover—around 64 million gallons annually. The cost for municipalities to manage leftover consumer paint averages $8 per gallon, making paint a half a billion dollar per year management cost. As a result of this law, Rhode Island could reap financial benefits up to $1.7 million annually if all 220,000 gallons of leftover paint available each year in Rhode Island is collected and recycled.
“ACA is pleased to have Rhode Island as the fourth state in the US to implement the PaintCare program. PaintCare will provide Rhode Island residents convenient access to locations throughout the state where they can easily return unused paint for recycling and proper disposal,” said Alison Keane, Vice President of Government Affairs for the American Coatings Association.
The bill calls for the creation of a statewide leftover paint stewardship program that would be managed by a stewardship organization. The program would be funded by an assessment on retail paint products, which would cover the cost of paint collection, reuse, recycling, and the safe disposal of remaining unusable paint. In addition, the legislation mandates the establishment of convenient collection sites throughout Rhode Island, as well as comprehensive consumer education and outreach efforts
The program would be funded by an assessment (TAX) on retail paint products, which would cover the cost of paint collection, reuse, recycling, and the safe disposal of remaining unusable paint.
We have local household hazmat drop-off days here in Silicon Valley sponsored by Santa Clara County. They are incredibly well run - you make an online appointment and drive into the drop-off area. They must have 75 people in disposable coveralls and goggles picking the stuff up from your car and properly disposing of it. Very friendly staff always with nice “Good morning sir” greetings. You can drop off almost any hazardous liquid including paint. There’s no doubt a lot of that stuff would have wound up in the local landfills. I’m not sure how our drop-offs are funded.
Rhode Islanders can purchase their paints in MA.
It's not a tax, it's a user fee. The alternative is the current system, where all taxpayers pay for the cost of disposing someone else's paint -- you tell me, which is the more conservative solution?
“It’s not a tax, it’s a user fee. The alternative is the current system, where all taxpayers pay for the cost of disposing someone else’s paint — you tell me, which is the more conservative solution?”
Being that I live in Texas where our governor has attempted, and will probably attempt again, to charge “user fees” to drive on our freeways - I prefer that spreading the cost.
A lot depends on how much "overhead" there is in govt to administrate the "solutions".
To me this sounds like a nice little bureaucracy that in ten years will have 100 employees making 100 grand each:
creation of a statewide leftover paint stewardship program that would be managed by a stewardship organization.
User fee?
Do you pay a user fee on gasoline? Soda? Cigarettes...?
Or are these taxes?
Plus, eventually, they’ll start charging a dollar per can at the disposal unit.
Our waste management utility now charges a homeowner a $22 user fee to bring a 4x8 trailer in to dump. Used to be free for homeowners.
OR...I can throw most of the stuff out at the curb and the bulky item truck will pick it up for free.
Let me think about it a sec...
In the years ahead after the government collapses due to debt, perhaps we can be sensible and just burn the stuff instead of having another government bureaucracy "dispose" of paint in very expensive way.
As a matter of fact, I do. The gas tax is a classic example. Some of the gas tax in most states goes to fix leaky underground gasoline storage tanks -- an inevitable problem of having gas stations. Other portions of the gas tax go for paving roads -- also a user fee. In some cases the gas tax goes for general government operations -- in that instance, the gas tax is simply a tax.
That is the key word. That's how we get certain species on the endangered list. That's how they say the red snapper in the gulf is being depleted. They can estimate anything.
Reminds me of the Swedish plan to collect all 'dangerous' mercury containing batteries-- so they wound up with a central warehouse full of leaking batteries that became a real health hazard instead of dispersing the stuff across landfills. We're governed by the same lying morons.
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