Butterfly Rewards - earn free credits and redeem for good causes -  learn more!
my care2
make a difference
healthy & green living: more than 5,000 ways to enhance your life

customize your free newsletter

Customize your Healthy & Green Living newsletter now


Disposing of Old Paint

posted by Kelly Magill Mar 11, 2009 10:54 am
Disposing of Old Paint
3 comments

One of the best ways to give your home and your spirits a lift is to repaint your space and with all of the low and no-VOC paint options, as well as natural clay plasters, this little pick-me-up is more environmentally friendly than ever.

But almost everyone has paint left over. You have three main options for this extra paint. First, keep it for touching up when you have scratches and spots that don’t come clean. Make sure that you seal the lid completely so that the paint doesn’t dry out. Second, give the paint to a friend, a church or another not-for-profit. They can typically use whatever donations they receive. And third, if neither of the first two solutions works for you, you can dispose of your leftover paint.

Of the most common types of paint, latex paint is the easiest to dispose of as it is not considered toxic. You can let your leftover paint dry, remove it from the can and include it in your trash that is land filled. Then, you can recycle the paint can.

Oil based paints are less simple. You need to take them to your local government hazardous household waste drop-off. From here, a hazardous waste facility picks up your oil based paint. The paint is either used as a fuel additive for manufacturing processes, or it is burned with other garbage to create electricity, or it is mixed with cement or lime and than landfilled, or it is mixed with other oil based paint and used by local governments for projects like covering graffiti.

So the best choice is to use what you have or donate it and always buy clay or latex based paint instead of oil based paint.

For more information or to subscribe at the introductory price of $10 a year, go to positivelygreen.com. Positively Green magazine launched in 2008 as a quarterly women’s magazine that covers every aspect of green from eco-friendly vacations to green fashion to green health. With articles that don’t just explain the problems, they outline solutions for busy people who want to make the change but don’t have the time to research solutions.

More on Green Home Decor (199 articles available)
More from Kelly Magill (23 articles available)

3 comments

3 comments

add your comment »
3 comments add your comment
Vural K.

thanks...
Kabin
Konteyner,Prefabrik
mega kabin
Konteyner

Pamela C.

Thank you for this good reminder!

Tierney G.

Great ideas! I live in a fairly rural area and we have to take our trash to the dump ourselves. I love this, our dump recycles almost everything. People are using this recycling service to the point that the recycling bins are overflowing! That is so good. They recycle paint in the cans, used oil,antifreeze, cumputers, flourescent bulbs,clothes and shoes,as well as all paper and plastic products. In our county there is no excuse for not recycling.

Please enter your comment.
Or, log in with your
Facebook account:
1500 characters remaining

who's talking about this story?

Disclaimer: Care2.com does not warrant and shall have no liability for information provided in this newsletter or on Care2.com. Each individual person, fabric, or material may react differently to a particular suggested use. It is recommended that before you begin to use any formula, you read the directions carefully and test it first. Should you have any health care-related questions or concerns, please call or see your physician or other health care provider.

1011852

Copyright © 2009 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved