SACRAMENTO – Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) celebrated the passage of SB 1143 out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee today after charting a more narrow focus on expanding PaintCare, an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for paint products.

“California’s PaintCare Program has proven to be a successful recycling and end-of-life management system for various kinds of hazardous paint products,” said Senator Allen. “However, its limited scope continues to burden local governments and confuse consumers over how to dispose of different paint products, which can be harmful to the environment when improperly managed. Expanding PaintCare will streamline California’s operations in order to more successfully recycle and manage excess paint.”

Roughly 850 million gallons of architectural paint are sold annually in the United States, and about 10 percent of this paint goes unused. These leftover products are a large source of household hazardous waste, and if improperly managed, pose serious concerns for public health and the environment by contaminating our soil and water networks.

To manage this excess paint in California, PaintCare launched in 2012, thanks to AB 1343 (Huffman, 2010), and has since collected 34.6 million gallons of paint through 795 year-round drop off sites. The program also aims to educate the public about buying the appropriate amount of paint, tips for using up remaining paint, and where they can find recycling locations near them.

Despite these successes, significant limitations currently exist for the different types of products PaintCare collects. This has resulted in a patchwork system of paint collection across the state that is financially burdensome to local governments and confusing for consumers. In an effort to begin addressing this, AB 1526 (Committee on Natural Resources, 2023) was signed into law last year to include aerosol coatings under the program.

SB 1143 builds on these efforts by expanding PaintCare to also cover certain nonindustrial coatings and coating-related products such as automotive refinish paint, marine and antifouling paints, and surface adhesives, among other products. This will bring all related paint products under one stewardship program to enhance the efficiency of PaintCare and ensure producer responsibility for one of the most significant sources of household hazardous waste.

While this measure alone is a significant step for managing hazardous products in California, SB 1143 was originally introduced in February to establish EPR for household hazardous waste (HHW) materials that would extend beyond paint. This broader push remains ongoing, and stakeholders have agreed to negotiations in the fall.

“Future generations are counting on us to collaborate and implement a successful circular economy, so I remain committed to establishing EPR for household hazardous waste materials at large,” said Senator Allen. “End-of-life care for these products cost local communities and ratepayers millions of dollars annually. Manufacturers, who are experts in their respective product industry, need to step up and help manage the products they create that pollute our waters and land.”

SB 1143 is now heading to a vote on the Assembly Floor.