So, you have finished painting the garden shed or the walls in the spare room that needed a touch-up. What are you going to do with the leftover paint and old paint cans? What are the best ways to dispose of paint?

Your normal household waste collection won’t accept liquid paint, and it cannot be put in a hired skip. Liquid paint is considered hazardous waste and must be disposed of properly. Do not pour paint down the drain; dispose of it correctly. No need to stress or imitate The Scream. We have compiled a few options to help you dispose of your unused paint and old paint cans.

What to Do with Small Amounts of Paint?

If you only have a small quantity of paint, paint disposal can be quite simple. To reiterate, do not pour paint down the drain. Instead, brush the remaining paint on a piece of cardboard or paper, let it dry, and then dispose of it in your normal black bin. If the paint tins contain more than a few millimetres of paint, they will need proper disposal, as paint is hazardous waste.

How to Dispose of Unused Paint Tins?

1.Make Sure You Are Finished with the Paint

Before you dispose of the old paint, make sure you no longer need it. Double-check the work you have done; you don’t want to hear those awful words, “You missed a bit.” It might also be worth keeping a bit of the leftover paint for touch-ups around the house. It would be much cheaper to pour some paint into a smaller container (label it with the room it was used in), make sure the lid is on tight, and store the old paint in a dry place like a garage or shed. If it is high-quality paint, you should be able to keep it for a while. Doing this will save you money and time; you never know when ceilings and walls may need a little lick of paint.

2.Donate/Give Away the Paint

If the paint is still usable, let others reuse it. Take the leftover paint to a local community center (check out the community repaint program) and see if they could use it. See if a local school could use the old paint in their art classes. Just because you no longer need the paint doesn’t mean someone else couldn’t use it. Look for local paint donation schemes in your area.

Check if any family or friends are looking to decorate their houses. People are doing home makeovers all the time. A quick call or WhatsApp could save a loved one a trip to B&Q. You could also list the leftover paint on a selling site for £0, such as eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Gumtree. Local people will come and collect the paint and put it to good use. Always consider whether someone can reuse this paint before disposing of it.

3.Take the Paint Tins to a Recycling Centre

If the paint is unusable, it will need to be taken to a recycling centre for disposal. The paint will need to be left to dry out (just take the lid off the tin) and harden before it is recycled. We advise calling your local recycling centre to see if they accept filled paint cans. When you arrive, inform them that there is old paint left in the cans so they can be disposed of correctly. Recycling is always the best option for paint tin disposal.

4.Hire a Hazardous Waste Collection Service

A very convenient option is to hire a company to collect the waste paint tins and dispose of them for you. This will cost more than the other options but will reduce worry and ensure the waste is disposed of correctly.

How to Dispose of Empty Paint Tins?

Empty tins still cannot be collected by your normal bin collection. Empty paint tins need to be taken to your local recycling facility. Your local center can be found here. When you arrive, specify that the paint tins are empty. Recycling centres will ensure the tins are disposed of correctly, which is better for the environment as they won’t end up in landfill sites.

Can Paint Tins Be Put in a Skip?

Empty paint tins can be put in a skip; however, this is only relevant if you have lots of waste to get rid of at the same time, such as during a home redecoration. Hiring a skip just for a few empty tins may not be the most cost-effective way for this waste disposal.

What About Plastic Paint Cans?

Plastic paint containers cannot currently be recycled. However, your local household waste recycling center can dispose of them. Any paint left in plastic containers needs to be dried out; just leave the lid off.

Summary - How to dispose of unused paint tins

Now you have some options for your paint disposal. Remember, paint is considered hazardous waste and cannot be treated like household waste and simply put in the bin.

Your options for disposing of your leftover paint are:

• Save Some: Keeping smaller amounts of unused paint will enable you to touch up any rooms in your house that may need it in the future.

• Small Amounts: For easy paint disposal, brush it on paper or cardboard, let it dry, and then bin it.

• Reuse It: Give your unwanted paint to those who need it.

• Recycle It: Take the old paint to the local recycling centre.

• Paint Tin Disposal: Get rid of clean paint tins by taking them to a recycling centre or putting them in a skip. They cannot be put in your normal black bin.

Always ensure you safely dispose of paint and paint tins! Think of the environment and see if the unused paint can be reused first. If you have to get rid of it, recycle!