Key Learning

Paint Volumes

• Change in volume and types of paint collected at HHW sites will vary depending on the convenience and availability of prior opportunities for consumers to return paint.
  • Some HHW programs stopped collecting latex paint prior to program rollout due to resource constraints and so experienced a spike in paint volume when the program began.
  • A GIS analysis could assist HHWs anticipate the increased volume of paint under a recycling program. However, the most effective version of this type of analysis would also include paint purchasing data related to demographics. For example, GIS can be used to map and analyze the demographics of an area (age, homeownership, etc.) in the context of paint purchasing behavior. Combining this with data on demographics with paint sales in the area could identify the potential quantity of paint that an HHW could expect.

Non-Paint

• Paint, latex in particular, has historically been a significant percentage of the volume of material collected by HHW programs. Shifting processing of the paint to another entity frees up resources for the HHW to handle other materials. However, in other states with limited infrastructure for paint collection the HHW might experience the opposite effect: capacity to process other products may decrease significantly as customers bring in a relatively high volume of legacy paint (especially if dropped off with other materials at same time).

Cost

• Labor and oil-based paint disposal costs are the key cost elements for HHW. States with limited pre-existing infrastructure for paint collection may experience initial spikes in labor needs at HHWs as customers bring in relatively high volumes of legacy paint; however, the program should mitigate the costs of sorting, bulking, and disposal. Areas with well-established infrastructure and steady paint volume collected could see significant cost savings.
• There is a lack of detailed cost information for HHWs which represent a significant set of program stakeholders. Without knowing the costs incurred to process paint at HHWs and the cost avoided from paint recycled, the full cost effectiveness of the program cannot be judged.
• The education and outreach campaigns for future roll-out states should include information that will be relevant for HHWs. This can be done by including HHWs as stakeholders in the development of the education and outreach program.