Metro Latex Paint Recycling 

Jim has worked in the hazardous waste management field for 24 years, including experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He has been with Metro, the regional government in the Portland area, for 17 years, where he serves as Program Manager for Metro's Hazardous Waste Program. Metro's program, considered a leading program nationally, provides collection, recycling, and environmentally sound disposal of more than 5 million pounds of hazardous waste from households and small businesses each year.  More

Green Comes in Many Colors:

Paint Recycling, VOCs, and Product Stewardship

Friday, March 28 from 8:00 pm- 9:00 pm

Two important approaches to achieving sustainability are building "greener" buildings, and using products that are better for the environment. Even the choice of what paint to use on our houses and commercial buildings can have a significant environmental impact.

A recent EPA report estimates that over 65 million gallons of paint is leftover from painting projects each year in the US. Metro, the regional government in the Portland area, collects hundreds of thousands of gallons of leftover latex paint around the region and turns it into MetroPaint, a 100% recycled interior/exterior latex paint. MetroPaint was recently certified as an environmentally preferable product by Green Seal, an international non-profit product certifying organization. MetroPaint is also proven to perform well, and provides significant cost savings.

This presentation will address the environmental benefits of using recycled paint instead of new paint, including greenhouse gas reduction, along with myths and realities about VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in paint, and garnering LEED credits on green building projects by using recycled paint. It will also address a forthcoming nationwide product stewardship system for leftover paint, planned for implementation in Oregon in 2009.