Recycling paints and supplies

Recycling paints and painting supplies is the final step of your painting project. If you have a lot of leftover paint, you can keep it for a future project. A pot of paint that’s been opened will keep if it’s sealed well and stored in a warm, dry place. The next time you start painting, just remember to mix the leftover paint well before you pick up the roller.

Our painting supplies are long-lasting if you look after them properly. You can use them again and again, so long as you remember to clean the brushes and rollers immediately after use.

Liquid paint and paint waste are classified as hazardous waste. Liquid paint should therefore always be sent to the hazardous waste collection. This also applies to Milieu paints, even though they don’t contain solvents. Regional collection points and mobile collection lorries accept hazardous waste. You can sort dried paint as mixed waste.

Brushes, rollers and wooden mixing sticks should be sorted as mixed waste when they can no longer be used.

Recycling metal saves energy and natural resources, as it can be recycled many times without any drop in quality.  This is why Milieu paints are packaged in metal tins and our paint trays are made of metal. You can sort empty paint tins and end-of-life paint trays as metal recycling, if they have only a thin layer of completely dry paint on the bottom or if they are completely clean.

Washing water for painting supplies is also hazardous waste.  When you paint with water-based Milieu paints and dry the paint residue that results from the soaking process, you can pour the washing water down the drain and recycle the dried paint silt as mixed waste.  You can find more detailed washing instructions here. 

Thank you for recycling!