Disposal of Water Based Paint
The EPA estimates that in the U.S., 69 million gallons of paint are left over every year. That's a lot of old paint cans to have cluttering up your garage or storage areas. Water-based latex paints made after 1992 aren't considered hazardous and can be disposed of with your regular garbage pick-up. However, it must first be dried out. Many collection crews will not pick up liquid or soft paint. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Place the cardboard box in warm, dry but well-ventilated space. Outside is preferable, but it should be out of the reach of children or animals.
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Put the trash bag into the cardboard box and fold the open end around the sides. Use a strong trash bag to hold the paint without leaking.
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Pour the clumping cat litter into the trash bag. If you only have a little leftover paint, you won't need much, so start small and add more once you see how it mixes with the paint.
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Empty the leftover paint onto the litter and use a paint stirrer to mix it together. Add more litter as needed until the paint is thoroughly mixed.
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Let the litter absorb the paint. The process can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two and it needs to be completely dry.
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Remove the bag from the cardboard box, tie it up and set it out with your regular trash.
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Dispose of the paint can by letting the remaining paint harden and setting it in the trash with the lid off.
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Tips & Warnings
You can use sand or sawdust instead of cat litter.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Pixland/Getty Images
