Recycled paint standard begins public comment period

Citation

(2006), "Recycled paint standard begins public comment period", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 53 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.2006.12853dab.004

Recycled paint standard begins public comment period

Recycled paint standard begins public comment period

Keywords: Paints, Standards

The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), Boston; the National Paint and Coatings Association (NPCA), Washington; and other stakeholders in a national paint dialogue have chosen Green Seal, Inc., to develop a national standard for recycled paint. Green Seal is taking public comments on the proposed standard until May 31, 2006, after which it will issue a final standard by August 31, 2006. The proposed standard is available at: www.productstewardship.us/displayPage.php?pageid=75 and www.greenseal.org/draftdocs.htm.

The agreement to involve Green Seal came out of a project funded by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, San Joaquin County in California; Portland Metro in Oregon; and the Dunn-Edwards Corp., as one of 11 projects spearheaded by the Paint Product Stewardship Initiative (PPSI). PPSI is a dialogue facilitated by PSI that includes more than 60 stakeholders, including paint manufacturers; recyclers; painting contractors; and federal, state and local government agencies. PSI organized the initiative in 2003 around the issue of reducing paint waste.

Consumer concern over paint performance is one of the greatest impediments to increasing the use of recycled paint. In addition to consumer applications, this effort could boost the use of recycled paint by federal, state and local governments. The Master Painters Institute, a nationally recognized paint- performance certification organization, is working with Green Seal on the performance portion of the standard. When the national standard for recycled paint is final, consumers will be given an independent certification of recycled paint's performance characteristics, which will lead to better-informed purchasing decisions. The proposed standard will take into account the quality, performance and safety of recycled paint, as well as environmental attributes.

“The use of recycled paint is in its infancy, but it has great potential to become a significant part of the coatings marketplace,” said Scott Cassel, PSI executive director. “Developing a standard for this product can boost the use of recycled paint, cut local disposal costs and create value from a material previously considered a waste.”

Recycled paint incorporates unused paint collected from consumers as well as excess from the original paint- manufacturing process, thereby reducing the disposal of paint. Currently, many states advise consumers to dry out their latex paint to a solid and throw it away in the regular trash, partly because of a lack of affordable reuse and recycling options. However, from a resource standpoint, if the development of an effective, economical process can be established to turn this “waste” into a new can of paint, it is in the best interests of government, industry and the public to do so. Creating a Green Seal certification for recycled paint is one step in this effort, and could have the two-fold effect of increasing the demand for recycled paint and saving taxpayer disposal dollars.

“This project is designed to boost consumer confidence in using recycled paint from those companies able to meet the Green Seal standard,” said Gary Petersen, California Integrated Waste Management board member. “Buying recycled will also significantly decrease the cost of our local paint collections by creating a market for the leftover paint collected.”

“Green Seal is looking forward to completing this standard and to certifying recycled paint that meets the standard, which will expand markets for this product,” said Arthur Weissman, PhD, Green Seal's president and CEO. “A Green Seal certification assures users that the product has been thoroughly evaluated, performs well and is environmentally responsible.”

“NPCA and its member companies are committed to addressing the challenge of leftover paint management,” said Alison Keane, counsel at the association. “If recycled paint manufacture is to be a viable solution to the challenge, significant work needs to be done in developing outlets for the product – the Green Seal Certification is a positive step in this direction.”

After Green Seal completes the standard, the organization will embark on a testing program for paints submitted for certification by manufacturers. Paints that meet the standard will earn the Green Seal of approval and will be able to display the Green Seal Certification Mark, which is a registered mark.