VALLEY — This summer, households and businesses across Colorado will have the opportunity to drop off leftover house paint, stain and varnish for free at “Paint Sweep” events being conducted in numerous towns including three San Luis Valley locations.

PaintCare Sweep events will be held in the following San Luis Valley towns: Creede (8/31); Saguache (9/11), and La Jara (9/12).

The one-day events, which will be held from June through September, make it convenient for residents and businesses in rural areas to drop-off unwanted paint for recycling. Some rural communities do not have any year-round paint drop-off locations, so PaintCare is traveling from town to town to provide additional opportunities for recycling leftover paint. PaintCare is the non-profit stewardship organization that runs Colorado’s paint recycling program.

“The goal of the Paint Sweep events is to provide residents and businesses who live in areas with less convenient access to a PaintCare drop-off site with one-day events where the community can recycle unused paint,” said Kevin Lynch, PaintCare Colorado’s program manager. “While there are currently more than 150 drop-off sites across Colorado, we know there is more that can be done to make the program even more convenient. These paint recycling events are the first of its kind, and we are looking forward to providing Coloradans in rural areas with increased access to opportunities for recycling their leftover paint.” 

The PaintCare program transports the collected paint from the drop-off sites to processing facilities, where it is remixed into recycled-content paint whenever possible, used as fuel, made into other products or, in the case of some unrecyclable paint, dried out and properly disposed.

These events are a good opportunity to get rid of larger amounts of house paint that may have accumulated in storage over time. The Colorado paint stewardship program is required by the Colorado Paint Product Stewardship Act (SB 14-029), signed by Gov. Hickenlooper on June 6, 2014, State law requires the program to bring paint recycling to rural areas.

While there is no charge to drop off paint for recycling at a Sweep event or at any paint retailer drop-off location, a nominal fee has been added to the price of each container of paint sold in Colorado as of July 1, 2015. The fee funds all aspects of the program including paint collection, transportation, recycling, public outreach, and program administration. The fee varies by the size of container: 35 cents for pints and quarts, 75 cents for one-gallon cans, and $1.60 for five-gallon buckets.

The Sweep events are free and will be held rain or shine. Most events will take place from 2 – 6 p.m., but times vary by town. For more information, visit www.paintcare.org/paintsweep.