FRIDLEY, Minn. (AP) - A new Minnesota law will make it easier for homeowners to recycle used paint.

Guidelines that take effect next summer will create a network of hardware and paint stores that accept old paint for free, then ship it to approved processing sites.

Reports say the new rules will shift the cost of paint waste onto manufactures instead of counties, which currently old house paint from consumers and sometimes charge a fee for every can or bucket they take.

Paint manufacturers will begin paying a hazardous waste assessment fee to cover the cost of recycling old latex paint and converting oil-based paint into industrial fuel.

The state estimates that 700,000 gallons of paint get recycled annually, while another 500,000 sit in dusty basements or illegally wind up in landfills.

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