BALTIMORE — "The big environmental bill that I'm handling this year is a bill to provide for the recycling of paint in Maryland," says Senator Chris West, a Republican who represents a district in Baltimore County.
An issue that may seem small, but could make a big environmental impact, if passed.
"Right now," says West, "you're supposed to take it to a.. county landfill, that accepts paint. And they're not many of them."
He describes the process of finding the right landfill, and getting this paint to the right place.
"It's such a hassle, that my guess, is that a very small percentage of people do this with their paint," he says. "They just sneak it into their trash cans and hope that once it's gone, it's gone."
His bill, would tack a fee on to the paint can at the beginning - that would cover the cost of stores recycling the paint cans in an environmentally-safe way. All you'd have to do is return the leftover paint in the can to the store where you bought it.
It's one of Senator West's environmental bills that he plans to prioritize this year.
"It's the responsible thing to do and there's no reason why this.. shouldn't pass."
