WASTE ORIGIN: Inventory Control and Materials Handling
WASTE TYPES: Paints, Solvents and Cleaners, Paint Thinners, Cements, Stains, Epoxies, Varnishes, Glazes, Paint Stripping Compounds, Adhesives, and Glues

WASTE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING METHODS:

• Use inventory control as a simple waste management tool:
  • Follow label directions carefully for shelf-life limits and proper storage conditions;
  • Inventory unopened materials and, when possible, return unwanted, usable materials to the distributor or manufacturer:
    • Develop agreements with vendors to make this a routine procedure.
  • Identify any material that still may be useful and log it into current inventory for use:
    • Use old paint as a base coat or primer;
    • Mix the same or similar types of paint when mixing different colors;
    • Reuse the clean portion of thinner after it has separated from the contaminants.
  • Donate unwanted but usable material to community or high school theaters, or community fix-up projects willing to accept them;
  • Materials exchange services list sources for unwanted specialty and industrial coatings.
• Unusable liquid wastes may be considered as hazardous or non-hazardous, but each requires special handling:
  • Combustible liquid wastes, like oil-based paints and stains and other petroleum-based liquids, require special attention to determine compatibility and whether they can be consolidated into the same disposal container;
  • Waste waterborne liquids like latex paints and water-based stains should be managed separately from petroleum-based liquids:
  • Older latex paints may contain mercury-based fungicides (typically phenyl mercuric acetate), and should be tested and handled as a separate hazardous waste;
  • Cleanup wastewater from small quantities of latex paints or water-based cleaners may be drained into sewer systems if the local treatment plant grants permission or has no such restriction. Do not dump these wastes in storm sewers or septic tank systems;
  • Large volumes of non-hazardous latex paint still may require disposal management by a permitted hazardous waste facility.
  • Waste chlorinated solvents, thinners, and paint strippers should always be managed separately.
• Unusable non-liquid hazardous wastes (cured hardeners, cements, epoxies, adhesives, or glazes) may require disposal of the hardened waste and its container in a larger shipping container called a "lab pack" used by disposal companies.
• Recycle empty plastic or metal containers, when possible. Contact recycling firms and solid waste haulers to see if they accept old paint-related containers.
• Spray paint cans and other aerosol cans, if not empty, may be subject to hazardous waste disposal requirements.
• Reusable aerosol containers may be used to spray a variety of liquids that are available in bulk packages, such as solvents and cleaners. This lowers the purchase and empty container costs.
• Contact state, county, or local solid and hazardous waste management agencies for current regulatory requirements or disposal options for paint-related wastes.

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