Disposing of Unused Paint

Over the last couple of weeks, we've been having a bit of a clear-out and have now reached the all-too-accommodating cellar. Amongst all the other stuff, we've got the usual collection of unused paint. A couple of weeks back I took some up to the Wood Green Recycling Centre for re-use or safe disposal.

I was disappointed that the staff instructed me to throw the paint in the general household waste container. The staff member insisted that this is what I do even when I explained it was oil based paint.

I had a few more cans to take yesterday and the same thing happened. Again the instruction was repeated when I checked. 

This time I thought enough was enough and so started what proved to be a very tortuous and unsatisfactory learning process. I started by putting in a call in to Veolia. I asked how I should dispose of paint at the Recycling Centre. They told me that I should put it in the area marked for paint. When I told them that there was none and that the staff had told me to put it in the general waste, they answered that the facility wasn't run by them and that I'd have to call the operator [they said North London Waste Authority (NWLA), but it turns out that in fact the centre is run by London Energy Ltd, a company owned by NLWA and contracted to provide waste management services to seven North London boroughs].

I called London Energy, asked the same question and was again told that it should be disposed in the dedicated area. When I related what had happened, I was told that a manager would call me back. Could I wait at the Recycling Centre for him to call, they asked. I explained that I'd had my fill by this point and that I would leave the paint in the oil recycling area, and wait for the manager's call at some point.

After the phone call, there then followed a conversation with one of the staff at the Recycling Centre. He pointed to a very large pink container set way off from the public area. "That's where the paint's supposed to go", he said, "but we don't have a key so we can't use it. We've asked for keys and for the container to be moved to the public area, but nothing happens". He also told me that the system works much better in the Barnet Recycling Centre, where the paint reuse container is accessible to the public.

When I got home 'the manager' called. The first chap I spoke with tried to explain the situation, and when I asked whether this meant that some paint went to landfill, another person took over the conversation and told me that nothing from the recycling centre goes to landfill. He said that paint under six months old is offered for reuse (anyone can go there and ask for paints). Older paint, he said, is incinerated to produce energy. (You can burn paint? Is that a responsible way to dispose of it?). He assured me that all paint can be taken there and that they will dispose of it or recycle it appropriately (though not according to the NWLA website). The member of staff I'd spoken to, he told me, didn't seem to understand what's supposed to happen and assured me that they'd been put right (at which point I put in a plea for the staff memeber since I didn't see the fault as theirs).

My second interlocutor turned out to be the manager of the seven North London Recycling Centres for London Energy. I asked him if there was any difference between the usage of the paint recycling facilities between the different centres. He told me that paint reuse at Barnet was very active, with schools and community groups making good use of it. They have apparently been struggling to get much traction at Wood Green. Little surprise given my experience!

I offered to publicise the paint re-use offering on HoL and spread the word around to other local websites. I asked if he could send me full details of the offer and the official position on paint disposal / recycling.  All this only happened yesterday and I've had a holding email from him, but nothing more so far. 

Since that conversation, I've taken a whizz round the interwebs and think I understand a bit more but I'm not entirely clear. 

I think the situation is as follows:

• Paint that is reusable can be donated to / left at a paint reuser for reuse.
• Water-based paint can be disposed of with household rubbish AS LONG AS it is dried out.
• Oil-based paints are defined as hazardous waste in the European Waste Catalogue and the List of Wastes (England) Regulations 2005 and must be treated before disposal

So where does that leave us in Harringay / Haringey then? Confused and a bit stuck I think. 

The Council website has a paints disposal page, (pdf version as of 31 Jan 2019 - Paint Disposal Haringey Council 31 Jan 2019.pdf), which is rather unsatisfactory and doesn't make the situation and options very clear. It does say that water-based paint (though it only refers to "emulsion") can be disposed of in the general household waste if it's dried out, but it's not clear about oil-based paint. It also says that if you use the Park View Centre (in Tottenham, I think)  the paint is delivered to Forest Recycling Project (FRP), which runs the Community RePaint scheme locally (more on that below). It doesn't say that in fact the Park View Centre closed in 2017 nor what happens at Wood Green, but does offer a link to Community Repaint. So I'm concluding that Paint given to Wood Green doesn't go to community repaint.

On its hazardous wastes page, (pdf version as of 31 Jan 2019 - Hazardous and Clinical Waste Haringey Council 31 Jan 2019.pdf), Haringey explains that hazardous waste can be booked for a free collection by the City of London "excluding paints" and when you look at the City of London's hazardous waste web page it lists Haringey and Hillingdon as exceptions to this offer.

So much for the Council website then.

So where are we then? Just before we go there, a quick word about Community Repaint (as touched on above). This is a a UK wide paint reuse network that "aims to collect leftover paint and redistribute it to benefit individuals, families, communities and charities in need at an affordable cost". With the option of donating via the Park View Recycling Center closed off, there's a centre in Camden and others round London. They specify that "paint must be in its original container, less than 10 years old and more than a third full".

So where does this leave us in Haringey?

1. Water-based paint

a. You can donate it for re-use at:

• i. The Wood Green Recycling Centre (Not more than ten years old, according to the NLWA website) AND if they get this up and running properly.
• ii. One of the Community Repaint Centres  (Not more than ten years old + criteria as above)

b. You can discard it in the household rubbish if it's dried out.

2. Oil-based paint

a. You can donate it for re-use at:

• i. The Wood Green Recycling Centre (Not more than ten years old, according to the NLWA website) AND if they get this up and running properly.
• ii. One of the Community Repaint Centres  (Not more than ten years old + criteria as above)

b. For paint which is unsuitable for donation, or if you'd rather not offer it for re-use, maybe phone a friend who doesn't live in Haringey or Hillingdon!! .

All clear now!?!?