Paint Recycling Program Announced

A new paint-recycling program in Nova Scotia will recover thousands of litres of paint and paint cans and will create employment throughout the province. David Morse, Minister of Environment and Labour, announced the program today, Feb. 28, at the annual RRFB Nova Scotia award ceremony in Halifax.

He said the program, which will go into effect on June 1, will allow consumers to return surplus paint to any one of the province's 85 recycling depots at no charge. The paint will then be shipped to a paint-recycling operation in Springhill, which will turn it into new paint.

"Thanks to the teamwork of RRFB Nova Scotia, the Department of Environment and Labour and the paint manufacturing industry, we have been able to come up with a program that has no charge-back to the consumer," said Mr. Morse.

"Nova Scotians buy more than two million containers of paint every year. Much of that ends up stacked in people's basements until they finally throw it away. Under this new program, we will recover and recycle this wasted resource, which will then be used by the Springhill plant to produce about 350,000 litres of recycled paint every year."

The program is expected to create new jobs at the Springhill plant and at recycling depots all around the province.

"Springhill is becoming quite an arena for environmental ingenuity," said Mr. Morse. "Now the town has an innovative industry based solely on a recycled product. This is a testament to Springhill's hard work and commitment to improving the province's environment."

The new program will be administered by RRFB Nova Scotia, formerly the Resource Recovery Fund Board.

"RRFB Nova Scotia is very excited about administering the new paint recycling program," said Derek Firth, RRFB Nova Scotia's chief operating officer. "The program is another step in Nova Scotia's long-term solid waste-resource management strategy, which has already created more than a thousand jobs and produced a cleaner and healthier environment."

NOTE: The following is a fact sheet on Nova Scotia's new paint recycling program.

FACT SHEET

Nova Scotians purchase more than 2,000,000 containers of paint every year. Up to 25 per cent of this paint is never used. In the past, most of this paint was either burned in dumps or buried in landfills. And, while most municipalities in Nova Scotia have operated periodic paint swaps for residents, there still has not been a convenient alternative to disposal for many people in Nova Scotia.

The Department of Environment and Labour has therefore worked co- operatively with RRFB Nova Scotia and the paint manufacturing industry to develop a program for waste paint recycling. This program will see the recovery of waste paint in the province and provide for manufacturing the waste paint into new products.

The program is supported by changes to the province's Solid Waste-Resource Management Regulations.

Once the program is fully implemented, consumers can return waste paint to any of 85 Enviro-Depots in Nova Scotia at no charge.

RRFB Nova Scotia will arrange for collection and transfer of the paint from the Enviro-Depots to the paint processor in Springhill. New recycled paint will be made from the waste paint.

The program will be funded by all brand owners of paint products who sell paint products into Nova Scotia. All brand owners must submit a paint stewardship plan to the minister for approval or contract this service with RRFB Nova Scotia.

The program applies to all latex, oil and solvent-based paints, including aerosol paint cans, but does not apply to specially formulated industrial, automotive or marine coatings.

A retailer may sell only paint that is supplied by a brand owner who has a stewardship plan approved by the minister.

The program will begin June 1.