Waste paint...what do you do with it?

[ronwojnar]

After several weeks of airbrushing, I tend to have a small coffee can's worth of paint waste. Whether its the stuff that I've blown thru my airbrush to clean it, or paint trays that I've washed the dried paint out of, it collects. How do you dispose of it?

[gsb5w]

I chuck mine in the woods.

[Rogviler]

Depending on where you live your only option is likely disposal. I worked at a paint store that was also a PaintCare site, and per regulations we weren't allowed to take any paint for recycling that wasn't in its original container (which probably has more to do with hazmat transportation laws than anything). In this case we instructed people to fill the container with kitty litter and leave it until it dried. Dried paint can be disposed of in your regular trash.

-Rog

[dizzyfugu]

Well, I can (and do) bring it to a public disposal site (where also my empty/dry paint rattle cans and tins go), where the stuff is taken care of - for free.

Household waste or "dropping it somewhere" is actually not an option, unless you are rather ignorant.

[seam-filler]

Disposal of chemical waste is often governed by local laws - and the company that handles waste management. Just dumping it in the environment is not a sensible or safe thing to do - at the very least it is anti-social and almost certainly illegal, wherever you are.

Empty rattle cans and paint containers go to my local waste disposal centre. It's free and they've got the facilities to cleans and recycle if possible. They won't take paint unless it's in its original container - but, as Rogviler advised, mix it into kitty litter and take the dried stuff to the disposal centre as chemical waste in a cheap plastic bucket or something - this is free for us too.

[hossfly72]

My ex used to have a blue car.. It's Interior Green, Black, and Intermediate Blue now..
I feel that it makes an artistic statement and it's been disposed of wisely.

I'm just kidding. It's been soaked up and dried in old rags that I use for airbrush cleaning and eventually throw away.