Should You Recycle Paint?

Few things can make a project feel complete faster than a new coat of paint. But whether you’re painting a living room or deck furniture, at the end of the day chances are that you’ll end up with leftover paint. And, chances are you’ve wondered: Is there a way to recycle paint?

If you’ve wondered this, you’re not alone! In an interview with Rochester, NY’s Spectrum One, Kelsey O’Toole of non-profit paint recycler PaintCare points out “An estimated 10% of paint that is sold each year is left over.”

Luckily, all that paint doesn’t need to sit and dry out and become a useless crust. Here we’ll look at a number of ways to make use of your old paint, as well as how to dispose of it safely.

Ways To Recycle Paint

For our purposes, we’re defining “recycling” paint as involving either giving it to a reblending company, donating to a local organization that might make use of it or reblending and storing it yourself.

Recycling

There isn’t always an easy way to recycle paint products. Exact rules and procedures vary from city to city, but as a general rule, you can never simply drop cans of paint into a recycling bin and call it good. (Not sure about the rules near you? A good place to start is with Earth911‘s tips for latex paint, or go direct to your local city’s website.)

The closest thing to a true paint recycling center is a reblending company, where individual paint is mixed into new batches and either donated to non-profits or resold to consumers. Perhaps the largest reblending company is PaintCare, a paint and stain recycling initiative of the American Coatings Association (ACA), launched in 2009. PaintCare currently has facilities in 10 states and the District of Columbia. Other reblending options operate on much more local levels, such as Vermont’s LocalColor and Austin’s AustinReBlend.

Donation

If your used paint can is more than half-full and the paint is in good shape, consider donating it to an organization such as a school or community theater. Your paint might find a new life in pep rally signs or stage backdrops.

Home re-mixing

Blending your old paints together can allow you to reuse the paint while keeping your storage space needs to a minimum. Be sure to only mix like types (water-based with water-based/oil-based with oil-based) to minimize separation. You can create new shades, but be aware that if you blend too many colors together, you’ll ultimately end up with an unattractive putty color.

How To Store Used Paint

Whether your paints are remixed or still their original shade, it’s essential to store paint properly to keep it in usable condition.

Containers

Put used paint in a sealed, opaque container. You can certainly re-use an existing paint can, as long as it meets two conditions: the lid must not be so warped or bent that it no longer creates a seal, and you need to clear away paint that sits inside the lid lip or along the top of the lip ridge. Failing to do so can prevent a seal or cause paint to solidify and create chunks in your paint.

Storage location

Store paint indoors. Unconditioned garages are prone to either overheating or freezing paint, both of which shorten the paint’s lifespan.

How To Dispose of Old Paint

Here we need to draw a distinction between different types of paint, along with your local regulations. Some states, such as California and Vermont, treat all paints as hazardous waste, while others do not, or have different regulations for oil-based and water-based paint.

Not sure what kind of paint you have? The label should specify whether it’s oil or water-based, but if that’s covered up with a smear of paint, then look at the clean-up directions; if the manufacturer recommends soap and hot water, it’s water-based, but if they recommend paint thinner or mineral spirits to clean up, it’s oil-based.

Water-based paint (acrylic or latex)

Water-based paints can be disposed of in the trash as long as they’ve been allowed to dry. (Unless you live in California, where they need to be treated the same as oil-based paints.) The simplest way to dry out water-based paint is to open the paint can and let it sit out for a few days. If you want to speed up the process, mix in some sawdust or kitty litter, or a commercial paint hardener. Once dry, you can simply put the paint out with your regular trash.

Oil-based paint

Oil-based paints are typically considered household hazardous waste. Most areas require that these paints be dropped off at a hazardous waste station, where they are typically accepted at no charge.

That said, always check your local regulations. For example, where I live the household toxic waste program accepts oil-based paints at no charge, but because water-based paints are not considered toxic, there is a fee to collect them as liquids…. unless I dry them out and put them in the regular trash collection.

Spray paint

Aerosol spray paints are typically not accepted in recycling programs and must be disposed of either in the trash or with local household waste programs.