District of ColumbiaContact: Fred Gabriel, District of Columbia Program Manager, fgabriel@paint.org (202) 317-0592
It’s more convenient than ever to recycle paint in the District of Columbia. We have recruited paint and hardware stores to take back paint. PaintCare has set up 9 convenient locations to drop off paint throughout the District. These drop-off sites are available to any household and business in the District, and they accept paint whenever they are open for business, all year-round.
PaintCare sites accept house paint, primers, stains, sealers, and clear coatings (e.g., shellac and varnish), but not aerosols (spray cans), solvents, and products intended for industrial or non-architectural use. The products we accept are referred to as “PaintCare Products” or “architectural paint,” and they must be in containers that are no larger than 5 gallons in size. Paint must be in its original container and the container must have an original printed label and a secured lid. We cannot accept open or leaking cans. Please review the following detailed list to find out what will be accepted.
There is no charge for dropping off paint at a PaintCare drop-off site. PaintCare is funded by the “PaintCare Fee” which is added to the purchase price of paint sold in the District. These fees are paid to PaintCare by paint manufacturers, then passed down to retailers and to their customers. When you buy paint, you may see a line item on your receipt or invoice for each container. The fee is not a deposit — you don’t get it back when you drop off paint — a common misunderstanding. These fees are used to fund all aspects of the paint stewardship program. Fees pay for paint collection, transportation, recycling, public outreach, and program administration, and to manage old “legacy” paint — the paint that has been accumulating in homes and businesses from before the program started. PaintCare sites accept old paint, even if it is 30 years old! The fees in the District are based on container size as follows:
| Container Size | Fee |
| Half pint or smaller | $0.00 |
| Larger than half pint and smaller than 1 gallon | $0.45 |
| 1 Gallon up to 2 gallons | $0.95 |
| Larger than 2 gallons up to 5 gallons | $1.95 |
PaintCare’s program brochure is intended for the general public. To request free paper copies of this brochure for you or others, please contact us at 855-PAINT09. In addition to paint stores, other organizations (e.g., government agencies, real estate agents, property managers, painting contractors) are welcome to order brochures and distribute to others.
Professional painting contractors are one of the groups most affected by PaintCare. If you are a painting contractor, please review the information below to learn more about PaintCare, the fees, and paint recycling services available from PaintCare. The District’s PaintCare program began on November 1, 2016.
As required by District law, a paint stewardship assessment (“PaintCare Fee”) is added by manufacturers to the wholesale price of all architectural paint sold in the District. This fee is paid by manufacturers to PaintCare to fund setting up drop-off sites for leftover, postconsumer paint, and for the transportation, recycling, and proper disposal of that paint. The fees also pay for consumer education and program administrative costs. The fees for the District have been approved by the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). Fees are by container size as follows:
| Container Size | Fee |
| Half pint or smaller | $0.00 |
| Larger than half pint and smaller than 1 gallon | $0.45 |
| 1 Gallon up to 2 gallons | $0.95 |
| Larger than 2 gallons up to 5 gallons | $1.95 |
It is expected that contractors will pass the fees on to their customers in order to recoup the fees they pay on the product. When estimating jobs, contractors should take these fees into account by checking with your suppliers to make sure the quotes for paint products include the fees. You should also let your customers know that you include these fees in your quotes.
Retail drop-off sites provide a convenient and no cost recycling option for painting contractors and other businesses. Businesses that generate less than 220 pounds of hazardous waste* per month are able to use these sites to recycle all program products (both water and oil-based) with some restrictions on quantities per month. Larger businesses (those that generate more than 220 pounds of hazardous waste per month) may use the drop-off sites for their water-based program products only; they are not able to use the sites for oil-based paint or other solvent-based products.*
220 pounds is about 20-30 gallons of paint. When counting how much hazardous waste you generate in a month, oil-based paint counts (because by law it is a hazardous waste), but latex and other water-based paint does not count toward the 220 pound monthly total.
If you have a large amount of unwanted paint, PaintCare offers a service that benefits both you and our volunteer drop-off sites — you don’t have to take your paint to a drop-off site a little at a time, and they don’t get overwhelmed with large volumes of paint. This free service is only available to households or businesses with at least 200 gallons of paint. To learn more, please review the following fact sheet. Then call PaintCare to request an appointment.
Large Volume Pick-Up Service Fact Sheet
Find out how the service works and how to request a pick-up.
LVP Fact Sheet
Also in Spanish
LVP Form to Request a Pick Up
Please use our new online form to request a pick up. Must be a minimum of 200 gallons:
You can also use the excel or PDF versions of the form and send by e-mail, fax or regular mail:
Let your customers know that you are a paint drop-off location! Visit our Drop-Off Site Promotion Toolkit for artwork for digital advertising, social media, or print advertising.
You can also order free point-of-sale (POS) materials or signage for your business or organization.
PaintCare provides exempt generator certification forms to drop-off sites to be signed by all businesses and organizations that drop off oil-based paint or other solvent based program products. Signing the form is not necessary for those with only latex or water based program products. The form was updated in August 2017 due to changes to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Download the current form here: Exempt Generator Certification Form
Not a drop-off site, but are interested in becoming one? Please see the information in the Partnering with PaintCare section at the bottom of this page.
The District of Columbia 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. More details are provided here:
a. Add Assessment Fee: Manufacturers must add the PaintCare Fees to their wholesale price of each container of paint. Retailers must ensure these fees are passed down to the consumer. The fees for the District have been approved by the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). Fees are by container size as follows:
| Container Size | Fee |
| Half pint or smaller | $0.00 |
| Larger than half pint and smaller than 1 gallon | $0.45 |
| 1 Gallon up to 2 gallons | $0.95 |
| Larger than 2 gallons up to 5 gallons | $1.95 |
b. Sell Registered Brands: Retailers must make sure they do not sell unregistered architectural paint brands. Retailers can verify the registration of manufacturers and brands using the following lists which are updated regularly. If you are a retailer and do not see a manufacturer or brand of paint sold in your store on these lists, please contact PaintCare at (855) 724-6809.
Retailers may volunteer to be a paint drop-off site and accept paint from households and certain businesses in their community. To learn more about what is involved in becoming a drop-off site, please read the above fact sheet. If you would like to be a drop-off site, please fill out our Online Retailer Interest Form, or use the Word or PDF version and send by email, fax or regular mail.
This one-page infographic (8.5″x11″) highlights the successes from the most recent reporting period for the District of Columbia PaintCare Program (November 2016 to December 2017). Please consider downloading and printing a copy of the infographic and then posting it for staff and the public at your business or organization.
PaintCare prepares an annual report for the 12 months ending December 31. The first report for the District of Columbia also covers the final two months of 2016 because the program started in November 2016.
PaintCare’s program plan for the District of Columbia was submitted to the District on April 1, 2016. This plan describes the operations, outreach, and other activities proposed for the DC Paint Stewardship Program.
The District of Columbia PaintCare Program is a result of Act Number 20-501, enacted in 2015. The legislation is clarified through District regulations.
The oversight agency for the District of Columbia paint stewardship program is the District Department of Energy and Environment.
