HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2384 FILED ON: 2/17/2021
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Patricia A. Haddad
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to paint recycling.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS: DATE ADDED:
Patricia A. Haddad 5th Bristol 2/17/2021
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 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2384 FILED ON: 2/17/2021
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No.
[Pin Slip]
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 796 OF 2019-2020.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)
_______________
An Act relative to paint recycling.
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 21H of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
2 following section:-
3 Section 9. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following
4 meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
5 “Architectural paint”, interior and exterior architectural coatings sold in containers of 5
6 gallons or less; provided, however, that “architectural paint” shall not include industrial, original
7 equipment or specialty coatings.
8 “Collection site”, any location or event at which architectural paint is accepted into a
9 postconsumer paint collection program pursuant to a postconsumer paint collection program
10 plan.
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11 “Commissioner”, the commissioner of environmental protection.
12 “Department”, the department of environmental protection.
13 “Environmentally sound management practices”, procedures for the collection, storage,
14 transportation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of architectural paint, to be implemented by the
15 manufacturer or representative organization or by the manufacturers or representative
16 organization’s contracted partners to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws and
17 any regulations and ordinances for the protection of human health and the environment. These
18 procedures shall address adequate record keeping, tracking and documenting of the final
19 disposition of materials and appropriate environmental liability coverage for the representative
20 organization.
21 “Household waste”, household waste as defined in 40 CFR § 261.4(b)(1).
22 “Postconsumer paint”, architectural paint not used and no longer wanted by a purchaser.
23 “Manufacturer”, manufacturer of architectural paint who sells, offers for sale or
24 distributes the architectural paint in the State under the manufacturer’s own name or brand.
25 “Program”, the postconsumer paint stewardship program established pursuant to section
26 (b).
27 “Recycling”, a process by which discarded products, components and by-products are
28 transformed into new usable or marketable materials in a manner in which the original products
29 may lose their identity.
30 “Representative organization”, a nonprofit organization established by a manufacturer to
31 implement the postconsumer paint stewardship program.
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32 “Retailer”, a company that offers architectural paint or other allied products for retail sale
33 in the commonwealth.
34 “Very small quantity generator”, very small quantity generators as defined in 40 CFR §
35 260.10.
36 (b)(1) A manufacturer of architectural paint sold at retail in the State or a representative
37 organization shall submit to the commissioner a plan for the establishment of a postconsumer
38 paint stewardship program. The program will seek to reduce the generation of postconsumer
39 paint, promote its reuse and recycling, and manage this waste stream using environmentally
40 sound management practices.
41 (2) The plan submitted by the manufacturer or representative organization to the
42 department under this section shall:
43 (i) Provide a list of participating manufacturers and brands covered by the program.
44 (ii) Provide information on the architectural paint products covered under the program,
45 such as interior or exterior water- and oil-based coatings, primers, sealers, or wood coatings.
46 (iii) Describe how it will provide for convenient and cost-effective statewide collection of
47 postconsumer architectural paint in the commonwealth. The manufacturer or
48 representative organization may coordinate the program with existing household
49 hazardous waste collection infrastructure as is mutually agreeable. A paint retailer may be
50 authorized by the manufacturer or representative organization as a paint collection site if the
51 paint retailer volunteers to act as such, complies with all applicable laws and regulations, and
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52 the retail location is consistent with the maintenance of a cost-effective network of paint
53 collection locations.
54 (iv) Establish a goal for the number and geographic distribution of collection sites for
55 postconsumer architectural paint, using geographic modeling and the following criteria: (A) at
56 least 90 percent of Massachusetts residents shall have a collection site within a 15-mile radius;
57 and (B) one site will be available for every 50,000 residents of an Urbanized Area (as defined by
58 the U.S. Census Bureau), unless otherwise approved by the commissioner.
59 (v) Describe how postconsumer paint will be managed in an environmentally and
60 economically sound manner using the following strategies, in this order: reuse, recycling, energy
61 recovery, and disposal.
62 (vi) Describe education and outreach efforts to inform consumers about the program.
63 These materials should include (A) information about collection opportunities for postconsumer
64 paint; (B) information about the fee for the operation of the program that shall be included in the
65 purchase price of all architectural paint sold in the commonwealth; and (C) efforts to promote the
66 source reduction, reuse, and recycling of architectural paint.
67 (vii) Be reviewed by an independent auditor to assure that any added fee to paint sold in
68 the commonwealth as a result of the postconsumer paint stewardship program does not exceed
69 the costs to operate and sustain the program in accordance with sound management practices.
70 The independent auditor shall verify that the amount added to each unit of paint will cover the
71 aforementioned costs of the postconsumer paint stewardship program.
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72 (3) The stewardship organization shall select the independent auditor in consultation with
73 the department. The department shall review the work product of the independent auditor. The
74 cost of any work performed by such independent auditor shall be funded by the program.
75 (4) Not later than 60 days after submission of the plan under this section, the
76 commissioner shall make a determination in writing, whether to approve the plan as submitted or
77 disapprove the plan.
78 (5) The department shall enforce the plan and may, by regulation, establish enforcement
79 procedures including the circumstances under which a new plan or an amendment to the plan
80 must be filed by the manufacturer or representative organization.
81 (6) No later than the implementation date of the program, information regarding the
82 approved plan, the names of participating producers, and the brands of architectural paint
83 covered by the program shall be posted on the department’s website and on the website of the
84 representative organization.
85 (7) Upon implementation of the program, each manufacturer shall include in the price of
86 any architectural paint sold to retailers and distributors in the commonwealth the per container
87 amount in the approved program plan. A retailer or distributor shall not deduct this amount from
88 the purchase price.
89 (c)(1) A manufacturer or retailer shall not sell, or offer for sale, architectural paint to any
90 person in the commonwealth unless the manufacturer of a paint brand or manufacturer’s
91 representative organization is implementing an approved paint stewardship plan as required by
92 section (b).
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 93 (2) A retailer shall be in compliance with this section if, on the date the architectural paint
94 was offered for sale, the manufacturer is listed on the department’s website as implementing or
95 participating in an approved program or if the paint brand is listed on the department’s website as
96 being included in the program.
97 (3) A paint collection site authorized under the provisions of this section shall not charge
98 any additional amount for the disposal of paint when it is offered for disposal.
99 (4) A manufacturer or the representative organization participating in a postconsumer
100 paint stewardship program shall not be liable for any claim of a violation of antitrust, restraint of
101 trade, unfair trade practice, or other anticompetitive conduct arising from conduct undertaken in
102 accordance with the program.
103 (5) Annually, the manufacturer or representative organization shall submit a report to the
104 commissioner that details the program. The report shall include: (i) a description of the methods
105 used to collect and transport postconsumer paint collected in the State; (ii) the volume and type
106 of postconsumer paint collected, and a description of the methods used to process the paint,
107 including reuse, recycling and other methods; (iii) samples of educational materials provided to
108 consumers of architectural paint; and (iv) the total cost of the program and an independent
109 financial audit. An independent financial auditor shall be chosen by the producer or
110 representative organization. The report or information relating to the report shall be posted on
111 the department’s website and on the website of the representative organization.
112 (6) Financial, production or sales data reported to the department by a manufacturer or by
113 the representative organization shall not be subject to disclosure but the commissioner may
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114 release a summary form of such data that does not disclose financial, production or sales data of
115 the manufacturer, retailer or representative organization.
116 (d)(1) Generators of household wastes and very small quantity generators are authorized
117 to transport or send their architectural paints to a paint collection site to the extent permitted by a
118 postconsumer paint stewardship program approved by the commissioner.
119 (2) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, paint collection sites are
120 authorized to collect and temporarily store architectural paints generated by persons specified in
121 this section in accordance with the requirements of the paint stewardship program in lieu of any
122 otherwise applicable law, rule or regulation.
123 (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as restricting the collection of architectural
124 paint by a postconsumer paint stewardship program where such collection is authorized under
125 any other laws or regulations.
126 (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any requirements applicable to
127 facilities that treat, dispose, or recycle architectural paint under an otherwise application law, rule
128 or regulation.
129 SECTION 2. The plan required by subsection (b) of section 9 of chapter 21H of the
130 General Laws shall be submitted not later than July 1, 2022. The manufacturer or representative
131 organization shall implement the plan within 6 months of the date that the program plan is
132 approved by the commissioner. The department may extend the date of the plan submission or
133 the date of the implementation of the program for good cause shown.
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134 SECTION 3. The manufacturer or representative organization shall submit the first
135 annual report detailing the postconsumer paint collection program as required by paragraph (5)
136 of subsection (c) of section 9 of chapter 21H of the General Laws to the commissioner of
137 environmental protection not later than September 1, 2023 and annually thereafter. The
138 department may extend the time for submission of the annual report for cause shown.
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