Paint disposal

[Mister Ray]

I was reading some posts about how people get rid of paint and thought I would share my technique. I call it an evaporation pond. It is the same thing I use for grey water at Burning Man and it works really well. Simply get some black plastic (the larger the better) and a couple of boards together and you are ready. Spread the plastic out in a sunny location and place the boards under the plastic around the edges, (stapling is recommended.) You have now created, not only a barrier from the earth, but a place to dump your wet paint. You can also clean your brushes here instead of into the sewer or septic where it will remain toxic and hard to break down. When all the paint is dry you can roll up the plastic and save it for another time.

Remember: paint is toxic as a liquid and garbage dry.

If it is rainy or not hot enough outside you can hold on to your paint untill it is. I did that last summer and when I got a chance to make an evaporation pond and dump out all my old paint I felt like I was making a Jackson Pollock painting. It was neat looking and fun, even inspirational!

Just simply opening a paint can and leaving it somewhere out of the rain for a few months works too, but you may want to add something like wood chips or straw to speed up the process.

[Tars]

I perhaps use more paint than the occasional can that most people use. I have an old metal garbage can that i use as a paint can/spray can/chemical container repository. When it gets half full, I take the garbage can to the hazardous waste recycling center at the dump. they sort it out and dispose of it safely. It's free. They're at the land fill site, and are open for sure on wed thru fri.

[nicofrog]

Thanks folks!
I've been a painter for years ,and the technique I use only works well in the summer, not everybody has room to store 5 gal buckets all winter.
The black plastic trick sounds great,one could even put a small peaked greenhouse roof over it and keep rain off and run it all year.
There were some guys in Marin that made beautiful art with paint in many layers on driftwood or old barn wood, then the sanded back through the layers and varnished the finished product!
Nico

I was reading some posts about how people get rid of paint and thought I would share my technique. I call it an evaporation pond. It is the same thing I use for grey water at Burning Man and it works really well. Simply get some black plastic (the larger the better) and a couple of boards together and you are ready. Spread the plastic out in a sunny location and place the boards under the plastic around the edges, (stapling is recommended.) You have now created, not only a barrier from the earth, but a place to dump your wet paint. You can also clean your brushes here instead of into the sewer or septic where it will remain toxic and hard to break down. When all the paint is dry you can roll up the plastic and save it for another time.

Remember: paint is toxic as a liquid and garbage dry.

If it is rainy or not hot enough outside you can hold on to your paint untill it is. I did that last summer and when I got a chance to make an evaporation pond and dump out all my old paint I felt like I was making a Jackson Pollock painting. It was neat looking and fun, even inspirational!

Just simply opening a paint can and leaving it somewhere out of the rain for a few months works too, but you may want to add something like wood chips or straw to speed up the process.