HB-451, paint care latex paint recycling?
 

The big question right now is will Gov Kelly Ayotte sign it into law?

On Jan 3, 2026 it passed the Senate by 13-11 and went to the Governor's desk.

What usually happens with unwanted latex paint in New Hampshire is cans of latex paint get placed into a dumpster, somewhere, or to the town transfer station hidden inside a trash bag ...... :eek::cool::eek:

This has been the New Hampshire not-very-secret method for many many years ...... hide the unwanted latex paint in a trash bag and drop it into a dumpster or at the town transfer station and no one cares or says anything.

It's just the way it goes ...... bye-bye unwanted latex paint ..... hidden into the trash, somewhere.

So, should Gov Ayotte sign paint care recycling into law or what? I say YES, she should because it's the best solution for New Hampshire for this problem. Is similar to the disposal fee on tires in N.H.

What do you think?

Probably.

I haven't seen anything at the shop, but adding a cost of $.50 or less per gallon isn't likely to impact sales.

I think the bigger question will be if homeowners are willing to drive to the authorized disposal site.

Leftover latex paint is not hazardous waste. Standard disposal instructions have been to open the top, let it dry then put the sludge in normal household waste.

If collected at a recycling facility, what is the plan after collection? Mix it all together to get battleship grey to sell in thrift stores?

My understanding of the bill is that they are covering the cost of HazMat.
But the wording seems to spread the cost across all product lines.

Maybe they don't know that water-based products will dry out/freeze?

Use kit litter
 

Since these are water based paints, our city instructed us to allow the paint to dry by either leaving the lids off or adding kitty litter to speed up the process. Once dried up, the covered paint cans can be tossed in the household garbage.

Oil based paints must be brought to the county hazmat collection sites. They usually have collection days every few months.

The bill adds a cost to the paints at wholesale to cover the cost of the collection sites. It seems to put the charge on all the paint rather than just those that end up at HazMat. Maybe easier or less expensive if spread over the entire line.

...... just say'n!
 

There is NOTHING more boring than sitting around and waiting for paint to dry up. Reading this Winnipesaukee Forum is a good something to read while waiting for paint to dry.

Even in the summer, it can take three long days for one inch deep latex paint to dry up, solid. Unless you have ideal 85-degrees and low humidity, it is a very s-l-o-w process. This is why so much paint gets illegally disposed into dumpsters and transfer stations. Drying out a container of latex paint is usually very slow, like 2-3 days slow, and very ineffective even with kitty litter or paint hardener. What you really need is 85-degrees and low 35% humidity to make latex paint dry in one day.

Is SO much easier to put the paint can into a trash bag, and take it to a dumpster, somewhere. ....... not that I would ever do this ...... :cool: ..... just say'n!

Both Maine and Vermont have had their own paint recycling state programs for about ten years, and residents of each state need to show a Maine or Vermont i.d. like a drivers license. So, this will most likely be the case here in New Hampshire so that visitors from Massachusetts cannot unload their unwanted paint here into New Hampshire.

Too bad Massachusetts ....... we want your big money but we don't want your discard latex paint ....... :emb:!

.................

If Gov Kelly Ayotte fails to act on HB-451 by the end of the day on Wednesday, January 14, this bill automatically gets passed, and today is January 13! ........ :patriot:

I have a cement mixing trough filled with sawdust in my shed. I pour a full can of latex paint on the sawdust and come back after a month when it is dry. Then put the now solid paint in a bag and in the trash. It works fine.

Most likely this only works when the temperature is above 50-degrees, and much better when above 80 with dry humidity.

Latex paint freezes at temps below 32.

One month is a heck of a long time to wait to get one gallon of paint mixed with sawdust to dry out.

Small Portion...15%?...Repurposing?
 

As directed, I flipped over a [partial] gallon on a stretch of sandy soil.

Two days later, I had a handy plastic gallon pail and a short cylinder of dry, unbreakable latex. When I get four of 'em, they can isolate vibrations for my air compressor bench.

:idea:

Most people with a flat garage roof spend a small fortune annually on white paint. Would a better destination for unwanted latex paint be to paint the roof pastel colors instead?

🤔

Interior paints have no UV resistance, and exterior paints not specifically designed for roofs would also have limited durability.

Repurposing Mismatched Paint...
 

A professional painter agreed with me that interior latex has decent durability. It was his leftover exterior latex that produced the short cylinder of dried paint. (In "bicycle yellow").

Interior flat white was used to paint my 2-story house using a roller. After four years, it doesn't look like it has weathered.

I'm counting on a certain amount of ablative wear to keep the coating looking good.

So, rather than waste gallons by casting it to the elements, I'm gonna mix a batch of both types of latex paints to create a new pastel color for my flat garage roof. :)

(That, out of sight, nobody will be able to appreciate).

:(

Interior latex flat has no UV resistance and will chalk quickly.
It also has no mold inhibitor.

Houses are normally painted with exterior flat latex, or a better option is latex stain.

Can't wait for the next episode of "Watching paint dry in the Lakes Region while waiting for spring to arrive."

Just an FYI. I bought my lake home 11 years ago, don't know when it was last stained but I restained it a couple years ago with a light gray Olympic latex. When I purchased the home there was an unopened gallon of darker gray Olympic oil stain in the garage. I planned on getting rid of it, but I ended up using it on my shed. It must have been at least 20 years old but with some serious stirring I brought it back to life. You could never do that with latex stain. It covered sooo much better than the Olympic water base stain. That one gallon and one coat took care of the whole shed.

Gov Ayotte's Facebook page, Sunday, Jan 18, 2026
 

On Sunday, January 18 at about noon, N.H. Gov Ayotte posted a colorful "No Sales Tax, No Paint Tax in New Hampshire, not now, not ever" in her Facebook page. It has about 485 comments with most discussing the N.H. property taxes and just a few discussing the proposed HB-451: Paint Care latex paint recycling.

So, I expect she will very soon veto the HB-451: Paint Care latex paint recycling bill that passed the Senate by 13-11.

Some key points on latex paint recycling. Both Maine and Vermont have had this Paint Care recycling for about ten years. Massachusetts has its own latex paint recycling program. Drying out latex paint with cat litter or hardener is difficult to do, can take days, weeks, and months depending on the heat and humidity. People resort to sneaking the paint into a dumpster or town transfer station when there is no latex paint recycling program.

Paint Care latex paint recycling is not a sales tax, it is a recycling fee similar to the tire disposal fee in New Hampshire and keeps latex paint out of the N.H. land fills just like recycled motor oil, and old tires.

You had better hope she kills some of these state tax bills on housing to or your tax house on the lake in Meredith is going to be tough on you.

How FLL has a primary home in NH?
The proposals mostly tax only second homes.
Only one has a proposal to increase taxation on a primary home.

I think he has two. I surmise from his posts over the years he lives in WV in the winter and in his lake house in the summer so one of the houses will get hit. Or even if the lake house is empty for 6 months some of the bills could hurt him, higher taxes and he would have to rent it. Which brings up another question. Some houses on the lake that people don't live in all winter are at best three season homes. What then? How can they rent them if they don't have heat and water and if they can't get out to an island home for that matter.

All good questions for the committees.

And this is why people from the southern part of the state come up with these laws or ideas for laws and have no idea how we "work" up here.

Some of the bills have sponsors from our area.

Technically, as the new money enters the area, assessments should rise faster in some areas than others, and that will shift the tax burden to them.

That could create more STR activity, but more options creates competition and limits pricing power except for those willing to take anything goes.

Which ones has sponsors from our area and who are the sponsors?

HB 1580-FN-LOCAL
Coker - I believe he is Meredith.

Several of the others have property in the area on the lake.

..... baking your old unwanted latex paint in the oven?
 

New Hampshire HB-451, a latex paint recycling fee met up with Gov Ayotte's veto on Monday, March 16, 2026 despite it being sponsored by both Democratic and Republican state reps and supported by paint manufacturers.

So now what? Haz-mat day at your local town transfer station does NOT accept latex paint. They only accept oil based paint.

The recommended method of drying out latex paint using cat litter or paint hardener or sawdust is not easy to do. It requires a lot of summer heat, low humidity, and enough time in the sun to dry it out like maybe three days of 85-degrees and low humidity, and lots of sunshine.

Maybe someone will design a 'latex paint baking tray', a large aluminum baking tray made from heavy aluminum foil, with divided sections and a cover lid designed to bake/dry out latex paint by heating it up to 325-degrees for one hour inside the kitchen oven just like baking a cake? Will this work? It might just work mixed with cat litter to reduce latex paint to a dry latex paint cake suitable to dispose legally?

Will someone please give this 'latex paint baking' a tryout in their oven and then post some photos here and inform the NH public? Thanks in advance!

Maybe unwanted latex paint can be mixed with sidewalk cement and used for building New Hampshire town and state sidewalks with granite gray latex paint mixed colored cement?

Use sawdust. Keeps the weight down and works well. It doesn’t have to be completely dried to toss. Also, small amounts can be poured on a piece of cardboard or drop cloth and discarded in the trash when dry. This is not a problem and never has been a problem


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http://www.newhampshirebulletin.com/...p-off-program/ ...... This photo show about 15 gallon cans and one five gallon bucket of old paint stored in some basement, somewhere.

So, disposing all this paint "is not a problem and has never been a problem." You must agree that THIS is a problem for the home owner, and drying out latex paint to make it legal to dispose at the town transfer station is not an easy drying process. It requires a lot of heat and process to make it dry out like baking it in the oven at 325-degrees for 60-minutes or something.

The bill before the Governor did not specify "latex" paint.
That was something you added.

Disposal of spray cans and oil-based product is the issue they are dealing with at the local levels.

All formats were included in the bill to keep the price on a particular product low. Spreading the cost.

Reads like a lazy home owner procrastinating decisions and wants others to pay for it. A few cans a week gets it cleaned out in a few months. Drying out doesn’t take long at all.


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The paint recycling bill just vetoed, New Hampshire HB-451, was all about latex paint.

Drying out latex paint may be relatively easy to do in Florida, but in New Hampshire it is a long slow process of mixing cat litter with the latex paint in a utility plastic container and needing three days of 85-degree temps and low humidity to get it to dry solid and then placing the dry latex solid mix it into a trash bag.

Suggest you take a look at www.paintcare.org, a latex paint recycling program in use for maybe 15-years in about 12 different states plus Wash DC including Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. You need to show an i.d. like a driver's license to dispose of your unwanted latex paint so granite staters cannot take their paint cans across the border to White River Junction or Fryeburg.

https://legiscan.com/NH/text/HB451/id/3048158

Where did it stipulate "latex"?

Ok, so the recently vetoed N.H. paint recycling bill included oil paint, oil stain, spray cans aerosol, latex paint, and other paint products.

Here's ..... www.paintcare.org/products ....... how it's done in twelve states plus Wash DC. Close to New Hampshire, the States of Maine, Vermont, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island all have set up Paint Care recycling programs. Ditto that for California, Minnesota, and Illinois. There's a total of twelve states plus Washington D.C. which have state wide Paint Care recycling.

Am VERY surprised to see that Massachusetts is not on the list and does NOT have a Paint Care recycling program. So, what's the Massachusetts method for disposing unwanted latex paint? New Hampshire has 1.4-million residents and Massachusetts has seven million residents so what does Massachusetts do? Here in New Hampshire I suspect there are home owners with one gallon cans of latex paint in storage in their basement that will be stored there for an unknown time into the future similar to the photograph in the above post.

You know that latex paint can be stored for five to ten years and still be good to use if the lid is on secure, and the paint not allowed to freeze. After ten years in storage you pry open the lid, give the paint a thorough stir and it can be good to use as paint, after ten years ....... honest. So, how about that! Oh well, what the heck ........ so, surprise, surprise, that ten year old gallon of Glidden from Walmart is still usable after a very thorough stirring with a wood paint stir stick. It is truly quite remarkable how long latex paint will remain good to use just like a bottle of expensive, high quality, red wine ....... voila, let's paint!