PaintCare has a new dropoff location in Longmont for leftover household and business paint recycling. St. Vrain Habitat ReStore (1351 Sherman Drive) is now taking donations of leftover house paint, stain, and varnish in partnership with the paint recycling organization. Aerosol paints and products are not accepted as part of this program. The site will not accept containers without original labels and will reject any containers that are leaking or empty.
The store will accept as much as five gallons of paint per visit, including house paints, primers, stains, sealers, and clear top coatings (varnish and shellac). PaintCare looks to find the “highest best use” for all paint, stains, and sealers that are collected. This means they will try to reuse or recycle as much as possible. The PaintCare program collected over 840,000 gallons of paint in 2024.
“We are thrilled that St. Vrain Habitat ReStore has joined the four other drop-off sites in Longmont that make it easy to recycle leftover paint,” said Sonya Hansen, Colorado’s PaintCare manager, in a press release. “All of the participating drop-off sites play a key role in making sure leftover paint is managed responsibly. To date in Colorado, PaintCare has collected over 7 million gallons of paint, diverting it from landfills and putting it to beneficial use.”
The American Coatings Association (ACA) launched PaintCare in 2009 as a way for paint companies to steward responsible disposal or reuse of paint products. The Colorado program started in 2015. To fund the program, an additional fee is added onto new paint sales — 35 cents for pints and quarts, 75 cents for one-two gallon containers, and $1.60 for containers up to five gallons.
The program is funded by a nominal fee on new paint sales: 35 cents for pints and quarts, 75 cents for one- to two-gallon containers, and $1.60 for larger than two-gallon up to five-gallon containers. The fee funds paint collection, transportation, recycling, retailer training, and public education in Colorado. All retailers must include the fee on their paint sales.
Individuals and businesses can drop off unused, leftover paint of any brand and the program is free. PaintCare can also arrange free pickups for businesses and locations that have 100 gallons or more of leftover paint.
The St. Vrain Habitat ReStore is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
