 |
| Mixing old latex paint to use as a cover product for the landfill keeps trash from blowing away and earns funding for the Hazardous Waste Collection Facility operations. |
Who would have thought a product as mundane as wall paint could endeavor such an exciting experience as reincarnation?
From our birth, care has gone into selecting the specific shade for our special life occasions. “Nesting” in a prenatal nursery, bringing new hope to an old hope-chest, turning a house into a home, and making a splash by revitalizing a small business can come down to the little details like paint. If it seems the influence that paint has in our lives has been taken for granted, we can now show how much we care.
Mesa County Solid Waste Management is excited to announce our partnership with PaintCare, a national, non-profit organization that operates paint recycling programs in participating states. Through collaborations with collection sites like ours, PaintCare facilitates gathering unused/left-over house paints, stains, and varnishes from drop-off sites and transfers them to specialized recycling facilities. These recycling processors can utilize the latex-based paint as the raw material to manufacture new paint products. From there, some companies may package these items for retail sale “just like new.” Oil-based items may be put to use as an alternative fuel for various incineration processes.
As a PaintCare partner, Mesa County saves the disposal cost for these items and earns money for any paint that we find an alternative use for. This means that our award-winning process of utilizing old latex paint as the landfill’s “alternative daily cover” and any paint that customers pick up through our materials re-use program now brings additional funds for our hazardous waste program. Ultimately, this helps keep your trash disposal fees low and our operations running smoothly. Where does this funding come from, you ask? In 2014 Colorado implemented a recycling fee on new paint sales that funds the PaintCare program.
Next time you’re at the hardware store, take a minute to study the shelves in the paint aisle. You may be surprised to find that many of our local retailers sell several brands of recycled paint and are PaintCare partners too! Consider purchasing a gallon or two of recycled paint and realize a simple way to reduce, reuse, and recycle as you bring color and meaning to the special moments in your life.
For more information about PaintCare, paint recycling, and where you can drop off your old paint for free, visit paintcare.org.