PaintCare Program Implementation: case studies from Illinois and Maryland
Date: June 17, 2026 Time: 1:00-2:30 pm ET
PaintCare is a leading product stewardship program in the United States. Since launching the Oregon pilot program in 2010, PaintCare has collected 90 million gallons of leftover paint. Of all the latex paint collected, nearly 84% is recycled into new paint. As of 2026, PaintCare now serves one-third of the entire U.S. population with top-notch leftover paint collection and recycling services. How do they do it?
Join Jacob Saffert, PaintCare’s Director of Eastern States, on Tuesday, June 17 at 1pm ET to learn everything you always wanted to know about how PaintCare launches a program using model legislation in each new state. There will be a baseline overview of the history and structure of the PaintCare program, followed by an in-depth dive into the nuts and bolts of program development, launch, and year-1 implementation. Topics to be covered include:
the underlying policy, developed through a PSI-facilitated national dialogue, that enables the program to succeed
how the PaintCare program works and recent milestones
timelines, benchmarks, and processes for implementation
common implementation challenges and how they are successfully addressed
the importance of stakeholder engagement and infrastructure building
variation across states and the ways PaintCare adapts and customizes the program to meet the needs of the local population.
This deep dive into the PaintCare program will feature recent case studies from the launch of the PaintCare program in Illinois in December 2025 and in Maryland in April 2026. There will be ample time for questions and discussion during this event.
Jacob Saffert, PaintCare | Director of Eastern States Jacob has over a decade of experience in the waste, recycling, and sustainability fields. He started with PaintCare’s Minnesota program in 2019 before becoming the Director of Eastern States in 2025. Prior to joining PaintCare, Jacob managed the Anoka County (MN) household hazardous waste program, which served a county of more than 300,000 residents. Jacob studies Political Science and Environmental Studies at St. John’s UNiversity and has a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Moderator
Amanda Nicholson, Product Stewardship Institute | Chief of Operations
Amanda Nicholson is Chief of Operations at the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), a policy advocate and consulting nonprofit that powers the emerging circular economy to ensure products are responsibly managed from design to end of life.With 20 years of experience in both the private and nonprofit sectors, Amanda supports PSI’s staff, board, government members, and partners with research, policy facilitation, and other strategic initiatives for paint, packaging, mattresses, and other projects. She has also support product stewardship councils in Illinois, Connecticut, Vermont, and New York and the International Paint Recycling Association (IPRA).
