HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4263
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, January 18, 2024.
The committee on Environment and Natural Resources to whom was
referred the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate No. 471) of Sal N.
DiDomenico, Jason M. Lewis, Patrick M. O'Connor, John J. Cronin and
other members of the General Court for legislation to save recycling costs
in the commonwealth, the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 542)
of Susan L. Moran and Mathew J. Muratore for legislation to establish
safe paint stewardship, the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 551)
of Patrick M. O'Connor and Mathew J. Muratore for legislation relative to
paint recycling, the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 554) of
Jacob R. Oliveira, Steven Owens, James K. Hawkins, Joanne M.
Comerford and others for legislation to require producer responsibility for
the collection, reuse and recycling of discarded electronic products, the
petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 572) of Michael F. Rush, Paul
McMurtry, Jack Patrick Lewis, John J. Cronin and other members of the
General Court for legislation to save recycling costs in the commonwealth,
the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 779) of Michael S. Day
relative to recycling costs, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
823) of Patricia A. Haddad and others relative to the recycling of certain
paints, and the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 871) of Steven
Owens, David M. Rogers and others relative to producer responsibility for
the collection, reuse and recycling of discarded electronic products,
reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 4263)
ought to pass.
For the committee,
DANIEL CAHILL.
 FILED ON: 1/17/2024
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4263
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act to save recycling costs in the Commonwealth.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 10 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
2 section 35DDD the following section:
3 Section 35EEE. (a) There shall be established an expendable trust to be known as the
4 sustainable packaging trust. Amounts deposited in the trust shall be used for department
5 administration of the packaging and paper product program or an alternative collection program
6 developed under sections 330 to 345, inclusive, of chapter 94 and for other uses described in this
7 section. Proceeds of the trust shall be invested by the treasurer and shall be under the care and
8 custody of the commissioner of the department of environmental protection, in consultation with
9 the committee established in paragraph (c) of section 332 of chapter 94. Interest earnings on
10 funds deposited in said trust shall be credited to and become part of the trust. Proceeds from the
11 trust shall be expended by said commissioner without further appropriation to cover
12 administrative costs for the implementation and enforcement of this section, including oversight,
13 issuance of any regulations, planning, plan review, review of proposed modifications to a plan
14 developed under sections 334 or 338 of chapter 94, compliance, enforcement, and adequate staff
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15 positions to administer the packaging and paper products program or an alternative collection
16 program. Adequate department staff positions shall include but not be limited to 5 FTE positions:
17 one managerial position, three compliance and enforcement positions, and one administrative
18 position.
19 (b) Any funds collected under section 343 of chapter 94 in an action in which the attorney
20 general has prevailed shall be deposited in the trust, and shall be used to administer grants and
21 loans to businesses, non-profits and collectors, as defined in section 330 of chapter 94, to reduce
22 environmental impacts related to the collection and recycling of the covered material category
23 for which the penalty was exacted.
24 (c) The commissioner of environmental protection shall cause to be filed with the chairs
25 of the house and senate committees on ways and means an annual report regarding the revenues
26 and expenditures provided from the trust.
27 SECTION 2. Chapter 21H of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
28 following section:-
29 Section 9. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following
30 meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
31 “Architectural paint”, interior and exterior architectural coatings sold in containers of 5
32 gallons or less; provided, however, that “architectural paint” shall not include industrial, original
33 equipment or specialty coatings.
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34 “Collection site”, any location or event at which architectural paint is accepted into a
35 postconsumer paint collection program pursuant to a postconsumer paint collection program
36 plan.
37 “Commissioner”, the commissioner of environmental protection.
38 “Department”, the department of environmental protection.
39 “Environmentally sound management practices”, procedures for the collection, storage,
40 transportation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of architectural paint, to be implemented by the
41 manufacturer or representative organization or by the manufacturers or representative
42 organization’s contracted partners to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws and
43 any regulations and ordinances for the protection of human health and the environment. These
44 procedures shall address adequate record keeping, tracking and documenting of the final
45 disposition of materials and appropriate environmental liability coverage for the representative
46 organization.
47 “Household waste”, household waste as defined in 40 CFR § 261.4(b)(1).
48 “Postconsumer paint”, architectural paint not used and no longer wanted by a purchaser.
49 “Manufacturer”, manufacturer of architectural paint who sells, offers for sale or
50 distributes the architectural paint in the State under the manufacturer’s own name or brand.
51 “Program”, the postconsumer paint stewardship program established pursuant to section
52 (b).
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53 “Recycling”, a process by which discarded products, components and by-products are
54 transformed into new usable or marketable materials in a manner in which the original products
55 may lose their identity.
56 “Representative organization”, a nonprofit organization established by a manufacturer to
57 implement the postconsumer paint stewardship program.
58 “Retailer”, a company that offers architectural paint or other allied products for retail sale
59 in the commonwealth.
60 “Very small quantity generator”, very small quantity generators as defined in 40 CFR §
61 260.10.
62 (b)(1) A manufacturer of architectural paint sold at retail in the state or a representative
63 organization shall submit to the commissioner a plan for the establishment of a postconsumer
64 paint stewardship program. The program will seek to reduce the generation of postconsumer
65 paint, promote its reuse and recycling, and manage this waste stream using environmentally
66 sound management practices.
67 (2) The plan submitted by the manufacturer or representative organization to the
68 department under this section shall:
69 (i) Provide a list of participating manufacturers and brands covered by the program.
70 (ii) Provide information on the architectural paint products covered under the program,
71 such as interior or exterior water- and oil-based coatings, primers, sealers, or wood coatings.
72 (iii) Describe how it will provide for convenient and cost-effective statewide collection of
73 postconsumer architectural paint in the commonwealth. The manufacturer or representative
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74 organization may coordinate the program with existing household hazardous waste collection
75 infrastructure as is mutually agreeable. A paint retailer may be authorized by the manufacturer
76 or representative organization as a paint collection site if the paint retailer volunteers to act as
77 such, complies with all applicable laws and regulations, and the retail location is consistent with
78 the maintenance of a cost-effective network of paint collection locations.
79 (iv) Establish a goal for the number and geographic distribution of collection sites for
80 postconsumer architectural paint, using geographic modeling and the following criteria: (A) at
81 least 90 percent of Massachusetts residents shall have a collection site within a 15-mile radius;
82 and (B) one site will be available for every 50,000 residents of an Urbanized Area (as defined by
83 the U.S. Census Bureau), unless otherwise approved by the commissioner.
84 (v) Describe how postconsumer paint will be managed in an environmentally and
85 economically sound manner using the following strategies, in this order: reuse, recycling, energy
86 recovery, and disposal.
87 (vi) Describe education and outreach efforts to inform consumers about the program.
88 These materials should include (A) information about collection opportunities for postconsumer
89 paint; (B) information about the fee for the operation of the program that shall be included in the
90 purchase price of all architectural paint sold in the commonwealth; and (C) efforts to promote the
91 source reduction, reuse, and recycling of architectural paint.
92 (vii) Be reviewed by an independent auditor to assure that any added fee to paint sold in
93 the commonwealth as a result of the postconsumer paint stewardship program does not exceed
94 the costs to operate and sustain the program in accordance with sound management practices.
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 95 The independent auditor shall verify that the amount added to each unit of paint will cover the
96 aforementioned costs of the postconsumer paint stewardship program.
97 (3) The stewardship organization shall select the independent auditor in consultation with
98 the department. The department shall review the work product of the independent auditor. The
99 cost of any work performed by such independent auditor shall be funded by the program.
100 (4) Not later than 60 days after submission of the plan under this section, the
101 commissioner shall make a determination in writing, whether to approve the plan as submitted or
102 disapprove the plan.
103 (5) The department shall enforce the plan and may, by regulation, establish enforcement
104 procedures including the circumstances under which a new plan or an amendment to the plan
105 must be filed by the manufacturer or representative organization.
106 (6) No later than the implementation date of the program, information regarding the
107 approved plan, the names of participating producers, and the brands of architectural paint
108 covered by the program shall be posted on the department’s website and on the website of the
109 representative organization.
110 (7) Upon implementation of the program, each manufacturer shall include in the price of
111 any architectural paint sold to retailers and distributors in the commonwealth the per container
112 amount in the approved program plan. A retailer or distributor shall not deduct this amount from
113 the purchase price.
114 (c)(1) A manufacturer or retailer shall not sell, or offer for sale, architectural paint to any
115 person in the commonwealth unless the manufacturer of a paint brand or manufacturer’s
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116 representative organization is implementing an approved paint stewardship plan as required by
117 section (b).
118 (2) A retailer shall be in compliance with this section if, on the date the architectural paint
119 was offered for sale, the manufacturer is listed on the department’s website as implementing or
120 participating in an approved program or if the paint brand is listed on the department’s website as
121 being included in the program.
122 (3) A paint collection site authorized under the provisions of this section shall not charge
123 any additional amount for the disposal of paint when it is offered for disposal.
124 (4) A manufacturer or the representative organization participating in a postconsumer
125 paint stewardship program shall not be liable for any claim of a violation of antitrust, restraint of
126 trade, unfair trade practice, or other anticompetitive conduct arising from conduct undertaken in
127 accordance with the program.
128 (5) Annually, the manufacturer or representative organization shall submit a report to the
129 commissioner that details the program. The report shall include: (i) a description of the methods
130 used to collect and transport postconsumer paint collected in the State; (ii) the volume and type
131 of postconsumer paint collected, and a description of the methods used to process the paint,
132 including reuse, recycling and other methods; (iii) samples of educational materials provided to
133 consumers of architectural paint; and (iv) the total cost of the program and an independent
134 financial audit. An independent financial auditor shall be chosen by the producer or
135 representative organization. The report or information relating to the report shall be posted on
136 the department’s website and on the website of the representative organization.
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137 (6) Financial, production or sales data reported to the department by a manufacturer or by
138 the representative organization shall not be subject to disclosure but the commissioner may
139 release a summary form of such data that does not disclose financial, production or sales data of
140 the manufacturer, retailer or representative organization.
141 (d)(1) Generators of household wastes and very small quantity generators are authorized
142 to transport or send their architectural paints to a paint collection site to the extent permitted by a
143 postconsumer paint stewardship program approved by the commissioner.
144 (2) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, paint collection sites are
145 authorized to collect and temporarily store architectural paints generated by persons specified in
146 this section in accordance with the requirements of the paint stewardship program in lieu of any
147 otherwise applicable law, rule or regulation.
148 (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as restricting the collection of architectural
149 paint by a postconsumer paint stewardship program where such collection is authorized under
150 any other laws or regulations.
151 (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any requirements applicable to
152 facilities that treat, dispose, or recycle architectural paint under an otherwise application law, rule
153 or regulation.
154 (e) The plan required by paragraph (b) of this section 9 shall be submitted not later than
155 July 1, 2025. The manufacturer or representative organization shall implement the plan within 6
156 months of the date that the program plan is approved by the commissioner. The department may
157 extend the date of the plan submission or the date of the implementation of the program for good
158 cause shown.
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159 (f) The manufacturer or representative organization shall submit the first annual report
160 detailing the postconsumer paint collection program as required by subparagraph (5) of
161 paragraph (c) of this section 9 to the commissioner not later than September 1, 2026, and
162 annually thereafter. The department may extend the time for submission of the annual report for
163 cause shown.
164 SECTION 3. Chapter 94 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
165 section 329 the following new sections:-
166 Section 330. In sections 330 to 345, inclusive, the following terms shall have the
167 following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
168 "Alternative collection program”, a program for the management of packaging material
169 that is operated by an individual producer or group of producers and that has been approved by
170 the department in accordance with section 338.
171 “Brand”, a name, symbol, word or mark that identifies a product, rather than its
172 components, and attributes the product to the owner of the brand.
173 “Collector”, a municipality, private hauler, association, or other entity that collects solid
174 waste from residential generators or schools.
175 “Committee”, the advisory committee as established by the department pursuant to
176 section 342.
177 “Coordinating body”, the entity formed by producer responsibility organizations if more
178 than one organization is formed, pursuant to section 332.
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179 "Covered materials”, any packaging material or paper products, regardless of
180 recyclability or compostability, that are sold,