Paint Recycling Program

It is estimated that about 30 million litres of paint is sold in Alberta each year. On average, 5 to 10 percent of this ends up as waste, which can pose environmental and health risks if disposed of improperly. Leftover paints are liquid waste and are difficult for consumers to dispose of properly. Oil-based paints contain combustible materials and, in some cases, hazardous components. Older paint may contain lead, mercury, and other heavy metals.

In addition, Albertans purchase more than 2 million aerosols each year, disposing of over 350,000 of them in the HHW program along with over 1 million empty paint containers. These products can be recycled, reducing their impact on the environment.

Old paint is difficult to dispose of and represents a high percentage of the hazardous products destined for thermal destruction. Disposal of paint also adds a significant cost to municipalities as they pay the cost of shipping these products.

Waste paint contains many components that have great potential for reuse, recycling and recovery. The Paint Recycling Alberta program will enable these products to be handled and recycled in an environmentally safe manner, reducing their impact on the environment and the municipalities.

In participating municipalities, residents will be able to drop off waste paint and paint containers at municipal collection sites or local “roundup” events.

Paint, aerosols and empty paint containers will be shipped to registered processors within Alberta where they will be separated and processed.

Communities participating in Alberta Environment’s voluntary residential Household Hazardous Waste program should see no interruption in their present service, both for paint and other household hazardous materials.

The program is funded through environmental fees charged on the sale of new paint in Alberta. The fees are put into a dedicated fund that can only be used to manage the paint recycling program. No part of the environmental fee is remitted to government. The paint recycling program has its own fund, separate from the other Alberta Recycling program funds.

The paint is sorted into different streams and sent to registered processors to be recycled into new paint, used in other products or in energy recovery, or sent for proper disposal if necessary. Any processor that receives paint must be registered with the Paint Recycling Program and meet all applicable environmental, transportation, health & safety, and local requirements.