Give them an inch...

[Ree]

We have a program at our store now where customers can bring in their old paint for recycling.
We have a company that comes and picks up the drums of paint whenever they get full.

The rules are simple. It has to be paint only. We can only take the cans if they have actual paint in them. If the can is almost empty, we tell the customer to just leave the lid off, let it dry to a solid, and then put it in their household recycling.
We ask them to wait until staff can go through their boxes to make sure everything they are leaving meets the criteria.

I think you can guess where this is going.

On Monday, we had a customer who somehow got past everybody and left an entire shopping cart full of all kinds of bottles of chemicals. There wasn't a single can of paint anywhere in it.
Not one bit of it was able to go to the recycling company.

Not only that, but we weren't even taking any paint that day because all the drums were full and we were waiting for a truck pickup.

This isn't the first time this has happened.

Some people just fill a shopping cart and leave it all on our parking lot.



We try to do a good thing for the community and the environment and there's always some asshole who wants to mess it up.

[Food Lady]

I didn't even know paint had to be recycled, but then, I'm not a homeowner. But, yeah, leaving a cart full of chemicals in the parking lot? What is wrong with people?

[Ree]

Not only do some people just leave it on the parking lot, but there have been some people who have figured out where the barrels are kept, and they will just drop stuff beside them or even in them, and not even tell us.

Paint isn't supposed to be dumped down the drain and it isn't supposed to go in normal household garbage.

A company near us has found a way to recycle the paint and turn it into usable product again.

It's just something we decided to do to help out the community as part of a Stewardship program.
As far as I know, we don't make a dime from it, and in fact, I think it actually costs us.
That's why we have to be careful about what we take back.

[lupo pazzesco]

Ugh. there's always the few, the delusioned, the entitled that try to ruin a good thing for everyone. I commend the idea, Ree, and I'm glad that a company is willing to do this, but there's always the asshats who think that the program is in place specifically for them, and the rules have no bearing. Bleh.

Now, I need to figure out if there's a place near me that does so, as I still have half a can of purple paint that I don't think I'm ever going to use again, and don't want sitting under my sink/on my patio/anywhere else around the place. hrmm. thanks for the idea!

[poofy_puff]

I'd take your purple paint if you lived near me, Lupo.

[tropicsgoddess]

Sheesh, those idiots need a serious whack to the head with a clue by four.

[Merriweather]

Ugh. there's always the few, the delusioned, the entitled that try to ruin a good thing for everyone. I commend the idea, Ree, and I'm glad that a company is willing to do this, but there's always the asshats who think that the program is in place specifically for them, and the rules have no bearing. Bleh.

Now, I need to figure out if there's a place near me that does so, as I still have half a can of purple paint that I don't think I'm ever going to use again, and don't want sitting under my sink/on my patio/anywhere else around the place. hrmm. thanks for the idea!

Just a quick tip, but before getting rid of any paint you've used in your house or to paint furniture, etc. - pour a small amount of it into a clean little jar, then label it with name, brand, type, and what you used it for. You never know when you might need a touch up, or want something done to match it.

[Victoria J]

A company near us has found a way to recycle the paint and turn it into usable product again.

Now, I need to figure out if there's a place near me that does so, as I still have half a can of purple paint that I don't think I'm ever going to use again, and don't want sitting under my sink/on my patio/anywhere else around the place. hrmm. thanks for the idea!

Where I live there's a scheme that will collect left over paint and give it to charities who can use it. From painting murals to doing up their offices I guess.

I'm kind of suprised by this particular brand of sucikiness though - I'd have thought anyone stupid enough and selfish enough would just be pouring the stuff down drains or dumping it randomly.

Victoria J

[evilhomer]

Ugh. there's always the few, the delusioned, the entitled that try to ruin a good thing for everyone. I commend the idea, Ree, and I'm glad that a company is willing to do this, but there's always the asshats who think that the program is in place specifically for them, and the rules have no bearing. Bleh.

And they'll be the first ones screaming bloody murder when the program ends due to this abuse and they have to start paying for it.

[Soulstealer]

Where I live there's a scheme that will collect left over paint and give it to charities who can use it. From painting murals to doing up their offices I guess.

I'm kind of suprised by this particular brand of sucikiness though - I'd have thought anyone stupid enough and selfish enough would just be pouring the stuff down drains or dumping it randomly.

Victoria J

Ah but if they can claim they're being environmentally friendly they get three special snowflake points.

[Ree]

I'm kind of suprised by this particular brand of sucikiness though - I'd have thought anyone stupid enough and selfish enough would just be pouring the stuff down drains or dumping it randomly.

I know. Go figure.

I think most of the lazy-assed bunch who dump and run are just trying to unlad their garbage so it becomes our problem instead of theirs.

[42_42_42]

Or you can do what my dad does: he just pours all the left over paint into one big bucket and uses that to repaint his barn every few years. He doesn't care what weird color it is. Right now it's a pinky-peach because he used left over pink, ivory, and peach paint from me and my sister's bedroom when we repainted them 10 years ago.

[Captain Trips]

Just goes to prove that old saying:
"No good deed goes unpunished!"

[StanFlouride]

The city of San Francisco has a similar program- the paint is usually used to paint over graffiti and is given out to anyone who asks (there's lots!).
At first they only accepted latex and acrylic paints but quickly realized that the kind of idiots who can't follow those simple rules will either throw it into the regular trash or let it sit around until the cans rust and it runs into the drains.
So now they take everything and some of it is really scary: 1.e., a gallon of DDT concentrate!- nice front label though, I took it off and kept it since the back one identified it)
I'd call your local city gov't and see if they'll pick it up- I'm guessing they will.

[EricKei]

Just a quick tip, but before getting rid of any paint you've used in your house or to paint furniture, etc. - pour a small amount of it into a clean little jar, then label it with name, brand, type, and what you used it for.

That's brilliant. I love it ^_^ Probably makes color-matching at the hardware store easier, too...