By Christina Weiler
Sentinel Correspondent
Over 400 million tons of hazardous waste is produced worldwide each year, according to thewordcounts.org.
There is no doubt that recycling rates have skyrocketed over the past several years, but people are still unaware of how to properly recycle hazardous waste. One particularly high-volume hazardous waste is paint.
A material is considered hazardous according to its flammability, reactivity, and toxicity. Paints are considered a hazardous because they often contain chemical additives, which vary in composition and toxicity. For this reason, many city recycling programs do not provide paint recycling services alongside paper, plastic, or metal recycling.
It is important to remember not to pour paints down the drain. This poses a large threat to the environment because paints can contaminate water sources and therefore endanger plant life, wildlife, and the community at large.
Still, there is no shortage of viable options for people to recycle paint products. The first solution is to donate paint to someone who can use it. Full or nearly full gallons can be donated to local community service groups or churches. These organizations may need paint, but they will likely have little use for partially filled gallons. Just call ahead and make sure the organization will accept your donation.
Practice calculating the amount of paint needed for a project as precisely as possible. Ask a local contractor or paint store clerk to help estimate. This way, the amount of leftover and waste may be reduced.
Additionally, PaintCare is a non-profit organization that works to make paint recycling accessible to the masses. Sponsored drop-off locations are scattered about Connecticut, Rhode Island, Colorado, Minnesota, Maine, Vermont, California, and Oregon. Paint and hardware stores are some of the most common PaintCare drop-off locations.
These stores accept water-based paints, oil-based paints, floor paints, primers, stains, sealers, lawn and field paints, among many other types of liquid paints, according to paintcare.org. However, paint thinners, aerosols, glues, arts and crafts paints, among other highly toxic paints, are not accepted. Paints must be sealed in their original cans and not leaking.
Locations in Stamford and Darien are among the many options for Greenwich residents to recycle their paint products. Once paint is dropped off at a PaintCare location, it is stored in containers and sorted by type. Oil-based paint is mainly blended into fuel at a cement plant where it is burned to recover the energy value. Most latex goes to recycling companies and reprocessed into new paint. Only about 1 to 4 percent of paint is sent to landfills.
Greenwichites may also dispose of unusable paint through disposal resource programs, according to greenwichct.org. Residents should dry out latex paints by mixing kitty litter with the can of wet paint. Then they may deliver the dry paint directly to the Holly Hill Resource Recovery Facility with their regular trash—local haulers will not pick it up curbside. For oil-based paints, residents must bring the paint in their sealed cans to the Household Hazardous Waste Day each spring, where residents dispose of a plethora of household hazardous waste.
Patrick Collins, Environmental Operations manager at Holly Hill, reflects on dedication to sustainability within the town. “We do a good job of recycling in Greenwich,” he said. “We are among the top of the state. As a community, we always do our best to keep the numbers going.”
