Program Details
PaintCare offers drop-off sites throughout Maine where the public can take unwanted paint for recycling. These sites are available to households, government agencies, and others with leftover paint.
Drop Off Paint
Large Volume Pickup (LVP) Service
If you have a large amount of unwanted paint (100+ gallons), PaintCare offers a free service to painting contractors, property managers, and others with large amounts of leftover architectural paint.
Products We Accept
PaintCare sites accept house paint as well as primers, stains, sealers, and clear coatings such as shellac and varnish. Accepted products, also referred to as “PaintCare products” and “architectural coatings,” are the same ones that carry the PaintCare fee when purchased.
Fee and Funding
PaintCare programs are funded by a fee (referred to as the PaintCare fee) which is applied to the purchase price of each container of new paint sold in the state. There is no charge for dropping off paint at a PaintCare drop-off site. The PaintCare fee is not a tax or a deposit. The fee funds all aspects of the paint stewardship program.
For more information on the fee, visit the PaintCare Fee Page.
The fee in Maine is based on container size as follows:
Official Documents
Summary of 2024 Maine Annual Report
This one-page infographic highlights the successes from the most recent reporting period (January to December 2024) for the Maine PaintCare program. Please consider downloading and printing a copy of the infographic and then posting it for staff and the public at your business or organization.
Annual Reports
- 2024 Annual Report (January – December 2024)
- 2023 Annual Report (January – December 2023)
- 2022 Annual Report (January – December 2022)
- 2021 Annual Report (January – December 2021)
- 2020 Calendar Year Annual Report (January – December 2020)
- 2020 Annual Report (July 2019 – June 2020)
- 2019 Annual Report (July 2018 – June 2019), revised March 20, 2020
- 2018 Annual Report (July 2017 – June 2018)
- 2017 Annual Report (July 2016 – June 2017)
- 2016 Annual Report (October 2015 – June 2016)
State Agency
The oversight agency for the Maine paint stewardship program is the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Program Plan
PaintCare’s program plan for Maine describes the operations, outreach, and other activities proposed for the Maine paint stewardship program.
- Maine Paint Stewardship Program Plan (June 8, 2015).
- On August 1, 2024, PaintCare proposed an amendment to the Maine Paint Stewardship Program Plan requesting an increase to the program fee structure. The fee increase was approved by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on February 10, 2025 and took effect October 1, 2025.
- On January 1, 2019, PaintCare transitioned the Stewardship Organization in Maine to PaintCare Maine LLC as described in a letter to the Department of Environmental Protection of the State of Maine (September 14, 2018)
Law
Laws relevant to the PaintCare program in Maine can be found at http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/
- Maine Revised Statutes
- Title 38: Waters and Navigation
- Chapter 24: Solid Waste Management and Recycling, Sections 2101 – 2236
- Subchapter 3: Waste Reduction and Recycling
- Section 2144. Stewardship Program for Architectural Paint
Sales Tax
Sales tax is not applied to the PaintCare Fee in Maine. To review the law that exempts the fee from sales and use tax, access a PDF document from Maine State Legislature’s website.
The Maine Paint Stewardship Law requires retailers of paint to include the PaintCare Fee in the sale price of program products and only sell products registered with the program. These fees are used to fund all aspects of the paint stewardship program: paint collection, transportation, recycling, public outreach, and program administration.