Lauren Scher, Washington and Oregon Program Manager of PaintCare

The warm weather is here in full swing and adventure-goers across the state are pulling their summer toys out of sheds, garages, and storage spaces. As you peer behind your paddleboards and lifejackets for the first time in months, you are likely wondering, “What should I do with those pyramids of leftover paint cans that are taking up space?”

If you live in the state of Washington, the answer is simple: Recycle them and give the paint a chance at a useful second life.

Washington introduced its paint recycling program in early 2021, giving households and businesses access to convenient drop-off locations throughout the state. Washingtonians responded with enthusiasm, recycling more than one million gallons of leftover paint over the program’s first eighteen months. This translates into one million gallons of paint that has been cleared out of storage, diverted from landfills, and put to better use across the state.

The paint recycling program is managed by PaintCare, a nonprofit organization that makes it easy to recycle paint by partnering with paint and hardware retailers, reuse stores, lumber yards, recycling centers and local government facilities. PaintCare maintains sites in centralized locations that are open year-round so that people can conveniently drop off their unwanted paint and go. From there, PaintCare transports and processes collected paint at nearby facilities, and much of it ends up back on the shelf as recycled content paint.

There are over 250 PaintCare drop-off sites in convenient locations throughout Washington and since a small fee is applied to purchases of all new paint sold in the state to fund the program, there is no cost when it’s time to drop it off. You can search for your nearest drop-off site at this link.

Before dropping paint off, you should make sure the cans are no larger than five gallons, the manufacturer’s printed label is still intact, and the paint container is covered with a secure lid. Before leaving home, call your nearest PaintCare drop-off site before visiting to ensure they are open and ready to accept the quantity of paint you have.

For those looking to recycle large amounts of paint (100+ gallons), PaintCare also offers a large-volume pickup service. Businesses or residents can simply check eligibility online, request a pickup and their paint will be taken to an authorized processing facility for reuse and recycling. All at no cost to them.

Clean that old paint out of your shed and help us make a difference, one can at a time. Your kayak will enjoy the elbow room.