1. Product Care Canadian Financing Systems by Mark Kurschner Paint Product Stewardship Initiative Charlotte, NC conference September 2006

2. 2 About Product Care and its programs Product Care is a non profit corporation. Product Care operates paint stewardship programs in the provinces of British Columbia (BC), Saskatchewan (SK) and Nova Scotia (NS). Each of those provinces has issued a regulation (under a provincial waste management statute) requiring “brandowner” or “first sellers” of paint in the province to be part of an approved product stewardship program (some regulations give the default option of return to retail subject to prescribed requirements) Regulations refer to architectural paint and all paint aerosols “Already empty” containers included in BC, SK, not in NS Regulations (for paint and other household hazardous waste) are expected in most other provinces

3. 3 Product Care’s members and program operations First sellers (who may be manufacturers, distributors or retailers) satisfy the regulatory obligation by joining Product Care which has approved programs in BC, SK and NS. The “product list” is the same in all programs for ease of administration The BC program includes other household hazardous waste. Each provincial program is financially separate, although utilizing common administration Each provincial program includes: –A collection depot system (muni. or bottle depots) –Central processing facility –Communication program

4. 4 about eco fees The programs are funded by “eco fees” paid to Product Care by its members for each provincial program Members remit eco-fees to Product Care per unit sold in the province Members report and pay monthly or quarterly depending on volume Eco fees vary by container size Eco fees are often but not always “visible”, ie. displayed as separate part of product price. Eco fees have never been increased, and were recently reduced for US gal. category in BC In BC, SK and NS eco-fees are: –5 US gal: C$1.00 –1 US gal: C$0.40 (in NS: $0.50) –1 US quart: C$0.25 –8 oz or less: C$0.10 –Aerosol – any size: C$0.10

5. 5 Some BC program facts and statistics Population of British Columbia: 4.2 million In 2005: 34 million litres architectural paint sold (9 million US gals.) 2.2 million litres recovered (570,000 US gals) Recovery rate: 6.3% Collection depots: >100 Management methods: Latex: Paint give-away Paint reprocessing Paint in concrete/cement Containers: recycled (#5 plastic) or energy value (#2 plastic) Alkyd: Paint give-away Paint reprocessing Re-distillation to extract solvent Energy recovery Containers: recycled (metal)

6. 6 Mark Kurschner Product Care Association mark@productcare.org@productcare.org 604 592 9272 x 201