Caring for leftover paint

Don’t throw away leftover paint just anywhere.

You’ll likely have at least a little bit of leftover paint after any painting project.
Sometimes, it takes more care and work to throw paint away than to buy it.

1. If only a small amount is left:
If there’s only a very small amount of paint at the bottom of the paint can, you can just let it dry completely and discard the can along with other metallic waste. Alternatively, you can soak six milliliters or less of leftover paint into newspaper, paper towel, or rags and discard it along with the rest of your household waste.

2. If there is more leftover paint than can be immediately thrown away:
You need to let the leftover paint dry and solidify before you can throw it away.
Once the paint in the can becomes solid, place it in a special garbage bag and throw it away with your recyclables.
Solid leftover paint and paint cans are neither household waste nor recyclable. You need to put them in special garbage bags in order to discard them.

You can quicken the solidification process by using newspaper, paper towel, or rags to soak up the liquid paint and let them dry. The paint-soaked paper towel and rags can be thrown away in the household waste.Contact your local district office to learn where you can purchase the special garbage bags.

3. If there is quite a bit of paint left:
Contact a qualified waste management company, certified by the Ministry of Environment, and/or the waste division of your local government to ensure the proper handling and discarding of the paint.