Good Question: A new fee on paint?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Got any projects around the house this summer? Maybe some painting?

You may want to check your receipt. A viewer named Mike did after buying paint from a home depot last month. He saw this at checkout, an extra $0.95 charge for the "paintcare fee."

Mike didn’t pay that fee in April but he had to weeks later. This goes back to a few years ago with the creation of the New York State Postconsumer Paint Collection Program.

The Department of Environmental Conservation describes the goal as "making it easier for households and businesses to safely dispose of leftover paint."

There aren’t a lot of options out there for reusing or recycling paint which is why the state made this move. Everything took effect May 1 and that’s why you see it on receipts now.

Paintcare is a non-profit that represents paint makers in states with similar programs. Think of it as the middle man, setting up drop-off sites to handle paint waste and recycling.

The fee in New York runs anywhere from $0.45 to $1.95 depending on how much architectural paint you’re buying.

Our viewer asked me "does this fee go into the New York State general fund or does it really go to the do-gooder organization?"
Paintcare says:

• The fee is not a tax; it does not go to the state.
• The fee is not a deposit; you don’t get it back when you drop off paint.
• Paintcare doesn’t get any more support in terms of money from Albany. It pays for itself.

Paintcare currently offers more than 200 drop-off sites here in New York. You can look those up online. Most are every day paint and hardware stores.

That fee by the way is taxable. it is lumped in on the total cost of the paint you’re buying and stores have to pass the fee on to you.