Post-consumer Paint Recycling

Overview

Post-consumer paint recycling in Canada is mandated under provincial jurisdiction and 100 percent of the cost for recovery and recycling paint is borne by the producers or brand owners, CPCA members. Canada leads the world in post-consumer paint recycling with a program in every province with  28 million kilograms of paint recycled in 2017, enough to paint 2 million homes. There are many ways that paint can be recycled. Most often the ‘highest quality’ latex paint is sorted and turned back into recycled paint that can be re-used. Recycled paint is environmentally preferable to new paint for some purposes, while still maintaining comparable quality. In many cases, reusable paints of the same colour are pumped into a tank where the material is mixed and tested. The paint is adjusted with additives and colorants as necessary. Finally, the paint is fine filtered and packaged for sale to consumers. Paint that cannot be reused has other environmentally friendly uses. Non-reusable paint can be made into a product used in cement manufacturing, thereby recycling virtually 100% of the original paint. Recycling one gallon of paint could save 13 gallons of water, 1 quart of oil, and 250,000 gallons of water pollution, 13.74 pounds of CO2, save enough energy to power the average home for 3 hours, or cook 6 meals in a microwave oven, or blow dry someone's hair 27 times.

Reduce your environmental footprint, recycle YOUR paint!

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