An alliance of North American recycled paint manufacturers has launched the International Paint Recycling Association (IPRA) to promote the quality, availability, and value of recycled latex paint.IPRA is the first organization to represent the recycled paint industry, which over the past two decades has recycled more than 30 million gallons of unused household latex paint into first-rate coatings for residential and commercial markets. Twelve founding members with operations in more than 20 states and multiple Canadian provinces are combining their experience and expertise to highlight the role of recycled paint as a key component of the circular economy for architectural coatings.
About 10 percent of all paint purchased in the U.S. – about 78 million gallons per year – goes unused. About 80 percent of this paint is latex (water-based), which can be turned into high quality recycled paint for use in a wide range of interior and exterior applications. “Recycled paint manufacturers use sophisticated collection, sorting, and processing techniques to produce an extremely high-quality product,” said Sanjeev Bagaria, IPRA President and Chief Executive Officer of GDB International. “By recycling leftover paint, our industry provides professional, affordable products to our customers and creates jobs, all while reducing waste and recovering valuable resources.”
To boost awareness of the benefits of recycled paint, IPRA is developing the IPRA Green Standard® paint certification program to guarantee that certified products meet stringent performance standards. The organization has also launched RecycledPaint.org to answer common questions about recycled paint and to connect consumers with recycled paint companies.
The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), a national nonprofit, conceived of the group and facilitates IPRA meetings, as well as provides technical expertise to support the organization. “For paint stewardship to work, consumers need to understand that recycled paint is high quality, comes in a variety of colors, and is often significantly lower in cost than virgin paint,” said Scott Cassel, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of PSI. “Households, government agencies, and businesses will have an easy win for the environment and their pocketbooks by using recycled paint.”
IPRA kicked off its programs by hosting an inaugural Recycled Paint Summit held in Azusa, CA. The organization will exhibit at conferences in the coming year, including the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association’s annual conference in Denver, Colorado this September.
Founding members of IPRA include Acrylatex Coatings & Recycling (Azusa, California); American Paint Recyclers (Van Wert, Ohio); Amazon Paint (Fridley, Minnesota); GDB International (Nashville, IL); Local Color (Williston, Vermont); Loop Paint (Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada); Metro Paint (Portland, Oregon); MXI Environmental Services (Abingdon, Virginia); Recolor Paints (Hanover, Massachusetts); Re-Coat Recycled Paint (Repcolite) (Holland, Michigan); Société Laurentide/Boomerang Paint (Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada); and Visions Quality Coatings (Sacramento, California).