Paint and Paint Can Recycling 101

Whether you live in an apartment, condominium or home, paint will definitely be on your home improvement shopping list. But what happens when the job is done and you have leftover paint? Consider:

• Some paints and related products (paint thinners/strippers) include hazardous ingredients.
• Although latex paint is less harmful than oil-based paint to the environment and public health, all types of paint should be handled and disposed of properly.
• You can dispose of paint products at your local household hazardous waste collection program.

Programs across the country are finding that consumers and contractors have large amounts of leftover paint that can be reused and/or recycled. Improperly handled leftover paint is not only an environmental problem for local communities, but also an economic one.

Be sure to consider:

• Purchasing the correct amount of paint for a project
• Reducing the leftover paint you have
• Properly storing leftover paint
• Reusing and recycling paint

Steps for Paint Can Disposal

1. Use up all of the paint if possible. Empty means when there is no more than 1/4 inch in the bottom and the color is there, but the paint is not. Also, let the paint can dry out by leaving the lid off before recycling it.

2. Once the can is empty, it is accepted as a scrap metal item. It should be put in a scrap metal bin at a drop-off facility. If there is no community drop-off bin, there are certain facilities that will take scrap metal for recycling. It is not something that should be put in the curbside recycling bin because it’s not a food grade material. Also, it’s too large of an item to be handled by a materials recovery facility.