Manufacturers make and sell paint. I choose to buy paint. Together, we should be responsible for the cost of proper disposal. The Paint Stewardship Bill, passed by the Colorado Senate last week, creates a Colorado-specific program developed by manufacturers working closely with other stakeholders. It is designed so that when buying a can of paint, each consumer pays a little more money – a user fee – which is embedded in the price and not visible to the buyer, but when disposing of the unused paint, there will be free, close and convenient options for us. And more paint will get recycled and reused rather than disposed. Paint stewardship works and is becoming the wave of the future. It truly is a program whose time has come.

Marjorie Griek, director, Colorado Association for Recycling

Denver