On June 18, 2025, PaintCare proposed an amendment to the Colorado Paint Stewardship Program Plan, requesting an increase of the fee assessed on the sale of architectural coatings (e.g., house paint, stain, and varnish) in Colorado.
Pending approval by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the fee increase will take effect April 1, 2026.
Since starting in 2015, the Colorado PaintCare program has processed more than seven million gallons of leftover paint for recycling or safe disposal. During this time, paint collection volumes have been consistently high, while paint management costs have increased and paint sales have slowed, resulting in the need for a fee increase in Colorado to ensure the program can be sustained into the future.
For more information, please see PaintCare’s amendment to the program plan which presents the financial position of the program and addresses the proposed fee structure change. The Fee Change Amendment can be found here.
Proposed Colorado Fee Structure
Based on the projected paint sales, revenue, and expenses, the increases in the program fee structure are based on container size as follows:
| Container Size | Current Fee | Proposed Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Half pint or smaller | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Larger than half pint up to smaller than 1 gallon | $0.35 | $0.50 |
| 1-2 gallons | $0.75 | $1.15 |
| Larger than 2 gallons up to 5 gallons | $1.60 | $2.25 |
Once the proposed fee is approved by CDPHE, PaintCare will follow up to notify you.
Manufacturers will be strongly encouraged to communicate with their dealers and customers in Colorado about the fee increase and the effective date. At that time, dealers and retailers should prepare to see the fee increase on invoices from their suppliers and evaluate their billing and point-of-sale systems to accommodate the fee change.
Please contact Sonya Hansen, Colorado Program Manager, at or (720) 202-5805 if you have any questions.