Proposal for a voluntary paint stewardship scheme

A report detailing paint consumption and disposal in Australia, released by the National Paint Stewardship Scheme Implementation Working Group, will form a cornerstone in the development and economic modelling of a national voluntary paint stewardship scheme in Australia. The working group is made up of senior representatives of government and industry and led by Sustainability Victoria.

The report finds that over 150 million litres of architectural and decorative (A&D) paint is sold annually in Australia. Of this paint, 6.1% becomes waste requiring disposal while 1.1%, or 2600 tonnes, is stockpiled. The report also acknowledged movement towards higher sales of water-based paint and improvements and expansions to government household chemical collection programs for A&D paint.

The report recommends a national product stewardship scheme for A&D paint which would, for the first time, allow both trade painters and households a safe, reliable and environmentally sound mechanism to deal with waste A&D paint. According to the executive director of the Australian Paint Manufacturers’ Federation Richard Phillips, “The development of an industry-led and -managed national product stewardship scheme, as a voluntary arrangement under the Product Stewardship Act, is the best way forward on the grounds of effectiveness and cost for paint product stewardship in Australia.”

The report can be downloaded from http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/paintstewardship.