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Paints Acrylatex Doesn’t Recycle
Oil-based paints that were made prior to 1978 contained fair amounts of mercury in them. These neurotoxins can be especially harmful to developing children, as well as the adult brain, nervous system and virtually every organ.
The good news is that mercury has not been a part of paint chemistry for several years. However, due to other volatile components used to make oil-based paints, we at Acrylatex are unable to collect or process this particular type of paint for recycling at our facility. Only companies who hold special certifications in transporting and processing oil-based and flammable materials can collect and process these specific paints. Oil-based paints are usually recycled into a fuel blend or incinerated.
Here are a few more facts about oil-based paint:
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Today, most oil-based paints are used as undercoats or primers, stains or special application paints for floors, paint for metal and on cars.
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Oil-based paint will always come in a metal can, with the word “alkyd” often on the label or instructions to “thin” or “clean up” with mineral spirits, turpentine or paint thinner.
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The paint itself is flammable because it contains petroleum distillates products made from oil (thus the classification "oil-based").
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The vapors these oil-based paints give off, called volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), can be very dangerous.
If you have oil-based paints, extreme care should be taken when storing and applying them per the manufacturer's instruction on the label. For disposal, the same care should be taken in transporting them to your local Hazardous Household Waste (HHW) collection center for proper disposal. They will make sure it is pick-up by a certified company for recycling.
Coming Next Year...
New Regulations for the Paint Industry that Will Affect Us All
For many years the solution of handling the recycling of latex paint has been the responsibility of local governments. Private companies working with these government agencies were paid to dispose of and/or recycle all the paint collected.
Beginning the second quarter of next year a new way of handling this process will take place. Product stewardship will be in acted in California. It’s a term you may not have heard before. Product stewardship is a concept whereby environmental protection centers around the product itself, and everyone involved in the life span of the product is called upon to take up responsibility to reduce its environmental impact.
Simply put, we as consumers will be paying up front, for the recycling and/or disposal of a product after it is no longer wanted by the general buying public. In our case, paint that no one wants.
So next year you will be taking your old paint to a local collection site; this most likely will be a paint or hardware store close to you. The material will then be transported to our location (or other paint recyclers in California) to be turned into good quality recycled paint for sale back to the public. It is important to recognize that this is the first time that California stakeholders have developed a regulations package to implement producer responsibility legislation. California is only the second state to pass paint stewardship legislation (Oregon was first).
We need solutions to waste problems in this state and across the nation. The cost of paint management is higher than almost any other product because of the volume. We know that Paint Care and the California Product Stewardship Council will provide great financial relief to local governments
and ensure that millions more gallons of paint are recycled each year.
The program is scheduled to start on time July 1, 2012. For now, good quality recycled latex paint is available from Acrylatex at prices much lower than new paint. And assuming the quantity of paint brought in for recycling increases to levels of 40 to 50% more than we get now, the price of recycled paint will drop. This is good for the consumer and for the environment. (Read more about it)
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