Paint: Handy Facts

This section contains a collection of concise statistics about paint excerpted from the Guide.

The U.S. produces 16-35 million gallons of leftover consumer paint annually (PSI, 2004)

Safe paint disposal costs an average of $8 per gallon (PSI, 2004).

Less than half of leftover paint is properly managed and recycled (PSI, 2004).

In 2002, paint and coatings manufacturers released 7,000 tons of VOCs during the manufacturing process (EPA, n.d.b).

In 2002, VOC emissions from the use of paint and coatings products were estimated at 2 million tons(EPA, n.d.b).

Environmentally preferable water-based paints have increased in market share to over 80% (PSI, 2004; EPA, n.d.b).

The Portland Metro Government recycles more than 100,000 gallons of paint annually (Green California, n.d.).

14 manufacturers offer Green Seal GS-11 certified paint products.

The GS-43 standard for recycled-content paint was collaboratively developed by over 60 diverse stakeholders.

The U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground saves $60,000 annually by using environmentally preferable paint (US EPA EPP, 1999).