I need to dispose of a number of old tins of paint, about 30 to forty in all I guess. I am helping to clear the shed of an old man who is now in a care home.
The problem is that the local council will no longer take paint. They class it as toxic waste. It is OK if it has gone hard apparently when it can go into landfill but liquid paint is a no no. The best advice the council can offer is to let the stuff go hard, possibly adding sawdust or soil to the cans until it goes hard. Don't really want to wait that long. Most of the stuff is pretty old and unusable as paint.
Any ideas? Do I just hide it in a bag and chuck it in the landfill skip?
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Ask a local painter and decorator what he does?
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If the Council won't take it I would put a few out each week in the rubbish collection. Have the Council explicitly stated that you must not put it out in the household rubbish? Our recyling centre takes old paints and garden chemicals. Of course what they do with it is up to them...
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Yes. It is explicitly forbidden to put liquid paint in the weekly collection or in the landfill skip at the recycling site. I think most councils Tak a similar line classifying paint as hazardous waste. The council used to take paint at specific sites but last year they said that disposal cost too much and the no longer take the stuff. I understand businesses use commercial hazardous waste contractors but that is not an option for the general public.
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Some of it might be usable if not for the finest finish. Paint is damn good stuff, with luck it will preserve and waterproof wood.
Proper paint burns well too, although this modern jelly stuff isn't so good from that POV.
Slop it on anything that seems to need protecting and you can't go far wrong.
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>>local council will no longer take paint.
Try another council area!
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>> >>local council will no longer take paint.
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>> Try another council area!
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Possible but nearest to take the stuff would be Essex - 70 miles each way.
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Cancel that - Essex only take old dried paint too.
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Take the lids off and let it dry out.
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Don't toss closed tins onto a bonfire. There may be a dangerous explosion. Open tins only.
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Bit of a long haul and it doesn't actually say they will take paint does it?
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I've taken old paint there, and oil. I also take a large bag of, um, dog doings there once a week :}
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>>I also take a large bag of, um, dog doings there once a week :}
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....now that's what I call hazardous waste...........
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>> ....now that's what I call hazardous waste...........
But not as hazardous as the stuff which dog owners refuse (geddit) to pick up after 'em.
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How long does half a litre of gloss take to dry. (do I have to watch :-)
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Just asked "Her" ( BAHons Fine Art )
"She" says contact any local art groups or schools etc, most probably bite your hand off, "She" says. I wouldn't know.
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...and they wonder why fly-tipping is on the increase :-(.
My local authority ban anything but empty or completely dried tins in the normal (bin) waste, but will accept liquid paint at recycling centres (or indeed, will collect it!).
The interesting thing is that they then do attempt to properly recycle it, through:
www.communityrepaint.org.uk/
...with only any residual stuff being treated as hazardous waste.
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And there was me thinking that Councils were paid to provide a service.
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>> And there was me thinking that Councils were paid to provide a service.
Paid how much by whom and to dispose of what?
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>> there was me thinking that Councils were paid to provide a service.
Unfortunately they are paid by people who begrudge every penny and desperately try to cut the amounts spent whenever possible.
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I'm sure the owner of this paint would happily pay a fee to dispose of it safely. It's frustrating that there is no way of getting rid.
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Interweb suggests mix paints together, i.e. acrylic with acrylic and use as a primer.
Alternatively add clay based cat litter to dry it out.
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FFS, you have 100's miles of coast line. The seals need brightening up.
On a serious note I'm guessing that if its old mans household paint, and they haven't gone hard yet, they are highly toxic lead based paints.
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Don't think that there's' any old enough to contain lead but good point I will double check.
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"I need to dispose of a number of old tins of paint,"
Four years ago, I had the same problem when my beloved uncle passed away - except that there were some 60+ tins of paint. I was able to give a few nearly-full tins of emulsion to a friend's offspring who were decorating their house, but most was too old or not sufficient to do a complete job.
For the next two years, we saved all the plastic trays from supermarket meat etc and, in the summers, spread a thin layer of paint into each tray and allowed them to dry in the sun by the veggie patch. The drying was sometimes aided by the addition of old dry potting compost etc. There are still a few residual bits and pieces, but I hope to finally get rid of them this summer. When the paint dries in the trays, they can be put into the black bin.
As a result of the misery of this exercise, I don't allow old paint tins to build up in our garage; I try to rationalise on the range of colours/paint types e.g. all the bedrooms will now be any colour you like ....... as long as it's 'Natural Calico'.
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Strangely enough we too hav Dulux Natural Calico on the walls!
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"Strangely enough we too hav Dulux Natural Calico on the walls!"
Don't ask me for a reference, but I read somewhere that 'Natural Calico' had now taken over from 'Magnolia' as the most popular shade for walls.
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Says here: "For items which cannot be accepted at Recycling Centres, your local Borough, City or District Council may offer a collection service for household hazardous waste, but may charge"
www.norfolk.gov.uk/Environment/Waste_and_recycling/Waste_disposal/Hazardous_waste/index.htm
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If you follow the link you will see that is says:
"No – Full or part-full cans still containing liquid paint will not be accepted as it is classed as hazardous waste (except during the annual Hazardous Waste Amnesties). Depending on the amount, the best solution is to find a way to reuse it, such as offering it to neighbours, friends or family members, or even community groups. However, it is possible to dry out the paint. For cans that are half full or less, the lid can be taken off and the paint allowed to completely dry out. You can speed up the process by mixing the leftover paint with sand or soil, and allow the mixture to completely dry out (this takes longer for solvent-based paint)."
I have enquirers about the hazardous waste amnesty. There may or may not be one this year and not before October anyway.
You will also see that they do no accept do faeces either.
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My last idea would be to mix it with cat litter and when its dried into a god awful lump then dispose of it.
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Probably the route I will go down. Trying to sort this out for someone who lives abroad. The paint is in a house 20 miles from me so it's all a bit complicated.
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Have you got one of these near you CG
www.ccorrn.org.uk/community-repaint
Pat
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>> Have you got one of these near you CG
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>> www.ccorrn.org.uk/community-repaint
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>> Pat
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Yes? No?
www.communityrepaint.org.uk/
Which leads to:-
www.communityrepaint.org.uk/paint-to-donate/
Last edited by: Duncan on Mon 21 Mar 16 at 06:37
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Never heard of this before, but then I don't follow the arcane ever-changing rules in other authorities as a hobby.
South Cambs doesn't seem to mind. Just take them to the recycling centre, full or empty.
www.scambs.gov.uk/what-bin?title=paint&f_bins_content_type_bin_type_tid=All
Maybe I should have a clear out before they change their mind. Pop down for a cuppa and a trip to the tip, CG.
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No use to OP I know but my closest tip has a special container for paint cans. (Bracknell)
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Try a private sector waste disposal company.
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Just back from taking a load of garden waste to tip in Towcester. Specific area for waste paint with cans neatly stacked in boxes so presumably Northamptonshire have a means to safely dispose.
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>>presumably Northamptonshire have a means to safely dispose
They may well have.
However, there was a scandal a few years back about Brazil accepting this type of waste from around the world and burying it. I'm sure I recall the suggestion that waste supposedly being disposed of or recycled by UK Councils was actually finding its way into Brazilian landfill.
I will see if I can find the article later.
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I was told by Norfolk council that paint used to to be sent to Scotland for disposal.
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Only blue paint. Used as face make-up.
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That is possible, there are hazardous waste disposal companies here as there are nearer to Norfolk. Our council pushes the landfill tax they have to pay (with our money) but supplies us with four (roumored soon to be five) wheelie bins. Oh, and a kitchen waste bin for food waste which has to be transferred to the compostable wheelie bin. Fortunately they provide calendar for the collection days for the various coloured bins. Landfill is the smallest bin, collected fortnightly, soon to be monthly. The other bins are collected fortnightly. Of course this all falls over in areas where there is no room to store all the bins.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Mon 21 Mar 16 at 14:02
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Old paint - No FM2R
