How to dispose of paint responsibly.

Whilst the disposal of most waste that you will produce at home is relatively straightforward and easy to do, this is not always the case.

There are some types of waste that you cannot put in a skip, and if you do try to do this, you can end up causing a real problem for yourself and the environment.

One example of this that you may not realise is paint. Liquid paint has been banned by both skip hire companies and also landfill sites. It is also something that cannot be accepted by your local council either, so it can’t be disposed of in your wheelie bin.

So, what can you do with it?

Some people think that the only option open to them is to pour the leftover paint down the drain in the garden. But this is a massive no-no. Not only can this block your waste pipes, but it is also extremely harmful to the environment.

The disposal of paint is not something that you are likely to have to worry about regularly. But it is important to make sure that you understand what to do if you want to safely and responsibly dispose of your paint.

Return unopened paint to the shop

If you are yet to open your paint and find that you don’t need it, you may be able to return the paint to the place you bought it from. If you have the receipt and it is within the shop’s return policy, you might even be able to get a refund or an exchange.

Use up smaller amounts of paint

If you don’t have much paint left to use, then it might be the best idea to try and use it up rather than find a way to dispose of it. Find if you have anything else that you may want to paint and use it on that. If you don’t use it, you could always use it to paint pieces of cardboard or wood destined for the skip. Whilst you cannot dispose of liquid paint, you can dispose of dry paint on a surface.

What about if you have larger amounts of pain?

If you have too much paint to use up around your own house or it will take too long to find surfaces to paint on, you may feel limited on options. You can try and ask around with family and friends to see if they could use the paint somehow.

You could also share your paint excess on social media to see if anyone else around you could use it. That way, you don’t have to worry about how to dispose of it, and you get the good feeling of being able to help someone else.

If all else fails, your final option is to leave the paint out to let it dry. Over a couple of nights (if left somewhere like a garage or a shed), the pain will solidify, and this will mean that you can then dispose of it at your local council recycling centre.

Whilst skip hire may not help you dispose of liquid paint, there are so many other things that skip hire can help with that it is still an excellent option for you to consider for your household waste.