Good Recycled Paint

Recycling leftover paint is an idea whose time has come. Paint disposal is one of the biggest headaches facing contractors and municipalities nationwide, and improper disposal can cause extensive environmental harm. Several municipalities and counties have run paint collection and re-use programs, often mixing together unwanted paint into a beige primer. The office sponsoring the event typically pays for the collection and remixing of the paint and then distributes the product free to users, as the cost of recycling is less than that of hazardous waste disposal. According to a report from the Marin County (California) Office of Waste Management, however, this remixed paint has unreliable quality and often clogs spray nozzles. Moreover, these municipal or county collections are generally limited to household waste, meaning that contractors and institutions are not included.

Several paint companies are developing more sophisticated recycling operations. Two of these companies, Major Paint of Torrence, California and The Green Paint Company of Manchaug, Massachusetts, now have viable products on the market. Because they can still charge for taking in unused paint, the recycled paint products can be a great bargain and, in terms of quality, they’re literally “as good as new.”