An increase on the fee assessed on the sale of architectural coatings (e.g., house paint, stain, and varnish) in the Maine PaintCare program has been approved by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The approved fee increase will take effect October 1, 2025.
Since starting in 2015, the Maine PaintCare program has processed more than one 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 Maine 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 fee structure change. The Fee Change Amendment can be found here.
New 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 | New Fee Effective October 1, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | $1.10 |
| Larger than 2 gallons up to 5 gallons | $1.60 | $2.00 |
Manufacturers are strongly encouraged to communicate with their dealers and customers in Maine about the fee increase and the effective date. Dealers and retailers should prepare to see the fee increase on invoices from their suppliers starting October 1 and evaluate their billing and point-of-sale systems to accommodate the fee change.
Please contact John Hurd, Maine Program Manager, at or (802) 245-4821 if you have any questions.