Proper Disposal of Liquid Paint

Liquid paint must never be thrown out in regular garbage. When the garbage truck collects the liquid paint and compacts it the paint can leak from the truck and damage the roadway, ruin private property and harm the environment.

In order to properly dispose of liquid paint you need to first determine the type of paint you have.

Separate the paint into latex/water based paint and oil based (this includes paints, stains and varnishes) and then dispose of each type based on the recommendations below.

• Water based/latex paint must be dried out prior to disposal. There are inexpensive paint hardening products for sale at your local hardware store, home improvement center or any where you purchase paint. These powdered hardeners, when added, will solidify up to 2/3 of a gallon of latex paint within hours. Cat litter and oil absorbents (“speedy-dri”) will also harden paint, but take significantly longer to solidify. Once the latex paint has been made solid it can be thrown out with regular trash. Hardened liquid paint should be placed out for collection UNCOVERED so the carters can easily determine that it is acceptable for collection.

• Oil based paints, stains and varnishes contain harmful chemical additives. these materials are considered hazardous to the environment and must be taken to the Town’s Recycling Center Household Hazard Waste Disposal Facility for safe disposal.