Recycled Paint (A Slightly Sticky Subject)

I’ve known for a while about low and zero VOC paint, but recycled paint?! It exists! There is a company in Minnesota called Amazon Environmental that turns unused paint into refurbished paint that looks and covers as good as new. Here’s how it works:

1. Most states have Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facilities that take leftover paint and other toxic stuff that should not be just chucked in the trash.
2. In some states (California and Minnesota especially) Amazon Environmental (and other paint companies) take the paint from the HHWs for recycling.
3. Amazon Environmental sorts and inspects the used paint, and then dumps all the reusable paint of the same color into a big mixer.
4. The mixed paint is tested for PH, sheen, viscosity, and coverage and there are some additives put in to make sure the paint will function like new on your walls.
5. Get this! Whatever paint Amazon Environmental can’t use to make more paint, they use to make a cement additive called “Processed Latex Pigment” (PLP). It is a great substitute for resources that would be mined such as clay and limestone.

The colors available (12 at the moment) represent a decent cross-section of what you might want to have on your walls; no crazy colors, but nothing ugly, either. The paints are interior/exterior and have a maximum VOC content of 250g/L. It seems that if use of low and zero VOC content paint becomes more popular, that maximum VOC number will hopefully go down.

Besides getting Amazon Environmental recycled paints through some wholesalers in Minnesota, you can also buy it from Dunn Edwards, but for now only if you are in Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, or New Mexico. For New York, Passonno Paints offer paint with 50/60% post consumer content. That means they have a lot more color choices, but not as high of a recycled content as Dunn Edwards, which has a minimum of 80% post-consumer paint.

What About Paint Recycling..Near Impossible?

Paint recycling in most states does not yet exist. We can’t assume that HHWs will serve as recycling centers; much of their purpose is proper disposal of toxic items. I went to Earth 911 to see if we could recycle paint in New York. At first it was a little confusing because after I typed the word “paint” and my zipcode into the search engine I was given the information for our HHWs and assumed it was for recycling. It wasn’t until I looked at the small print under the links for all the New York HHWs that I saw these links were for “Paint Disposal,” not “Paint Recycling.”

(Unfortunately, I called our HHW before I made that discovery and spent about 5 minutes asking the woman on the other end why the website said I needed a driver’s license to recycle paint. She was very confused as well and told me to just stay home and dump the paint in a bag full of kitty litter. That’s when I realized she thought I wanted to dispose of the paint and recycle the can. I don’t recommend the kitty litter option, by the way. A little wasteful if you ask me.)

Here’s what Earth 911 says about the subject, to keep it in perspective:

Paint can not be separated and recast in a new material. In some instances, it can be used to produce more paint. This is highly dependent on the amount and quality of the paint in question. Used paint has little value as a commodity, especially when compared to other recyclable materials. This makes it even harder to find a recycler. The next best option is proper disposal. This means collection, solidification and disposal of the paint itself. When done correctly, the can or container is then recycled. Though imperfect, this has a tremendous impact on the environment.

So what’s the solution for those of us not near any paint recycling centers?

1. Don’t buy too much paint to begin with!
2. Buy the least toxic paint you can get your hands on, and recycled paint if you can.
3. If you have a garage or shed that doesn’t need to be fancy, you can combine all of your used paints (as long as they are all made of the same base material like latex) and use tint to make a basic color for walls, floor, ceiling, etc.
4. Donate your paint to a place like Habitat for Humanity who will put it to good use.
5. And then, for you New Yorkers, there’s the Brooklyn stand-by of putting cans of paint out on the sidewalk for others to find. I have mixed feelings about this. As long as the cans are well sealed and childproof, it’s not too hazardous. I think perhaps Craigslist and Freecycle are better options, though. (I do have a dear friend who painted her whole apartment from street paint, but she didn’t get to choose the colors and her apartment is a bit of a candy-colored pastel party.)
6. Keep the paint in your basement/under the sink well sealed until your city or town makes recycling available.

For more details and tips on disposing of your unwanted paint, check out Planet Green and Earth 911’s great articles.

Also, if anyone has any success stories about using recycled paint, I would love to hear them. As well, I’m interested to hear if your town or city just established paint recycling options. Hopefully New York will catch on soon. There must be millions of paint cans just waiting for recycling in the five boroughs.