The Paint Exchange

Seventy five million gallons, or 10% of all of the paint sold in the US goes unused EVERY year.  This paint is filling people’s garages, basements and closets.  It is the half gallon left over after painting the living room, it is the three test quarts bought before finding the right color for the kitchen, it is the full gallon that was bought because somebody over estimated the amount necessary to paint the bedroom. 

What happens to this paint?  Sometimes it is dried out with cat litter or paint hardener and thrown away.     Sometimes it just tossed, still liquid, into the trash where it seeps into the groundwater.  Most often it just sits, taking up space and collecting dust.  Why should this valuable raw material go to waste?  It shouldn’t and legally (unless it is dried) it can’t. 

Paint recycling is a new idea, but it is a vital idea.  It brings us back to the idea of wasting nothing, of making use of what we have and protecting our environment. 

What do I do for a living?  — I help people fill their houses with color, while making the Earth better and saving money.  Awesome.