PaintCare Recycling Event Scheduled In Farmingdale For Earth Day

FARMINGDALE, NY — Farmingdale residents were encouraged by PaintCare to recycle leftover household paints in a green manner for Earth Day, the national non-profit organization announced.

A free recycling event is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Farmingdale State College, at 2350 Broadhollow Road.

Community members, both households and businesses, can drop off their leftover paint from the convenience of their vehicles. PaintCare promises the "highest, best use" for paint collected in the program, including giving away good quality material as-is, recycling it, or putting it to another beneficial use.

"Earth Day is the perfect time to take a look at that leftover paint you may have accumulated over the years and make a point of recycling it," said Sandra Vera, PaintCare New York program coordinator, in a news release. "PaintCare makes it simple and easy to, and this is a nice local event to kickstart some of your spring cleaning effort."

Space is limited and interested community members can register on the event’s Eventbrite in advance. Participants will enter the campus to reach student lots 5B and 5C behind Lupton Hall. Certified waste haulers will be on hand to remove paint containers from vehicles for a contactless drop-off. Vehicles are not required, however, as pedestrians, bikes, and public transit participants are more than welcome to attend. The event will promptly end at 1 p.m.

Farmingdale State College is "pleased" to welcome PaintCare to the campus, said Maia E. Roseval, from the college's Office for Sustainability.

"PaintCare’s free paint recycling drop-off event is great for the community and the environment alike, and helps demonstrate to our students the importance of working toward greater sustainability," Roseval said. "We encourage you to come celebrate Earth Day with us on Saturday. Get a head start on spring cleaning and properly recycle that paint you’ve been storing the environmentally responsible way."

PaintCare accepts both latex- and oil-based architectural paint products, including paints, stains, sealers, and varnishes. Paint must be dropped off in its original container with its original manufacturer’s label. No leaking, unlabeled, or empty containers will be accepted, according to PaintCare. There are no restrictions on how much paint a household can bring to the event.

A full list of products accepted by the program is available on PaintCare’s website.

To use PaintCare drop-off events for oil-based paint, businesses must qualify as an exempt generator under federal and any state hazardous waste generator rules. If a business does not qualify as an exempt generator, it will not be able to use PaintCare drop-off sites and events for oil- based paint, but it can still use it for latex products.

There is no cost when dropping off paint for recycling. A small fee on the sale of new paint — called the PaintCare fee — funds all aspects of the program including paint collection, transportation, processing, and public education. The PaintCare fee in New York varies by container size: $0.00 for half pint or smaller; $0.45 for larger than half pint up to smaller than one gallon; $0.95 for one to two gallons; $1.95 for larger than two gallons up to five gallons.

PaintCare is a nonprofit organization created by the paint industry through the American Coatings Association to manage leftover paint in states that have enacted paint stewardship laws.

New York’s paint recycling program comes following a paint stewardship law that was passed by the state legislature in 2019. PaintCare expanded into the state in May 2022 and since then, established more than 275 drop-off sites across the state and collected more than 600,000 gallons.