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Paint Recovery and Reuse Quebec Exhibits Best Practices for Collection Depots
November, 2007
By Steve Blasiak
It has been estimated that as much as 10% of purchased paint is never used. When considering the many millions of gallons sold in Canada in just one year, it amounts to a lot of leftover paint.
Disposing of leftover paint can be even more problematic. It can't be discarded with other household waste because municipal regulations dictate that only empty cans are allowable. Consumers who drop paint off at an appropriate waste disposal site may also wonder what actually becomes of it and what its ultimate impact on the environment will be.
Most Canadian provinces have a paint recovery program that is funded by the paint industry. Paint manufacturers are charged an "eco fee" by the government of approximately 50 cents per gallon for each gallon they produce or import into their province. These collected monies are held in a fund and are used to cover the costs associated with collecting, transporting, reworking or disposing of the unwanted or post-consumer paint.
Details of the program differ from province to province. Most municipal dumps or Hazardous Waste Depots across the country do allow drop-off of household paint, but this can still be difficult for some people if these dumps are in inaccessible locations and/or have inconvenient hours of operation.
The Quebec government allows the locations that sell the paint to the consumer to be used as the actual collection depots for receiving unwanted or leftover paint. This dramatically increases the number of drop-off centres and makes it much easier for consumers to ensure leftover paint gets recycled instead of sent to land fill. Ontario is not yet one of the provinces offering this type of service with the paint industry, but talks with industry officials are underway and a similar program could be in place in 2008.
Recycled paint - manufactured from unused leftover domestic paint and stain - is another sustainable decorating option for consumers. The finished product consists of paints and stains that have the same properties as new or virgin paint.
The process recycles 84% of everything it receives, including the metal paint containers. The remaining 16% includes dried paint and other non-paint particles or products, which are not processed but rather sent to a hazardous waste handling company for proper disposal.
To guarantee quality, many tests are performed including lead and mercury detection, and tests measuring the quantity of VOC's (volatile organic compounds), solids content, viscosity, etc. to ensure standards for optimal lustre, durability and ease of application are met. Each batch requires a laborious manual tinting process that matches to standard every time, ensuring colour consistency batch to batch.
The result is a product that competes in quality and price with the equivalent washable eggshell latex. The VOC content of the water-based paint, at 90 g per litre, is significantly lower than Environment Canada's 2008 standard of 250 g per litre for recycled paint.
"Property managers alone see the value in a low-cost, high-hiding, washable paint... and the environmental aspect is a welcomed bonus," says Peter Fortier, Manager of Ontario Paints in downtown Toronto, which began carrying the product in early 2007.
From do-it-yourself weekend paint warriors to paint industry experts, all have agreed that the recycling of paint's time has come. More drop-off centres would increase convenience, support individual commitment to sustainability and address environmental concerns by enabling the recycling of 84% of collected paint and stain materials. The result would be a good quality can of paint at an affordable price with no hazardous side effects. A true win-win-win solution.
Steve Blasiak is with Boomerang(r) Recycled Paints, a company that collects and reworks waste paint so it can be sold as a new paint product. For more information, see the web site at www.boomerangpaint.com.
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