BOSTON - Two years after the passage of the Connecticut Paint Stewardship Law, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has approved a plan to implement the state's paint stewardship program beginning July 1, 2013. The implementation plan was prepared and submitted by PaintCare Inc., a nonprofit organization established by the American Coatings Association to oversee paint take-back programs nationwide.

The approval makes Connecticut the third state in the nation to implement a paint take-back law based on a model program facilitated in 2007 by the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI). In 2010, Oregon became the first state to roll out a leftover paint collection and recycling program via paint stewardship legislation, followed by California in 2012. Rhode Island is expected to implement its legislation-backed paint stewardship program in July 2014.

Connecticut's law, Public Act 11-24, passed in 2011. Like Oregon's and California's respective laws, it ensures the environmentally responsible end-of-life management of leftover architectural paint while shifting the managerial and financial burden away from the state and local governments. This is made possible through a small per-container assessment fee (PaintCare Recovery Fee) that manufacturers pay to PaintCare Inc. for each container of paint they sell. Manufacturers pass the assessment fee onto retailers, which then pass it on to consumers at the point of sale. These paint recovery fees fund the entire take-back program, including collection, transportation, recycling, public outreach and administration. All architectural paint manufacturers that sell their products in Connecticut are required to register with the PaintCare program.

For more information, visit www.productstewardship.us and www.paintcare.org.