Everyone is shaping up and shipping stuff out! Spring has sprung and because we’re all stuck indoors, there are spring cleans happening everywhere.
High dusting and wardrobe clear outs. The cars are getting home valets and eventually the garages and sheds will be cleared out too.
In Scotland the recycling centres are all closed, advice is to make a pile for when they open, or put little out often before our home refuge collections happen.
Our garage is filled with paint cans, it might seem to be a treasure trove that could paint a few houses from top to bottom! If we have no use for this paint, and we know recycling units don’t take them, what do we do?
We’ve done a lot of research into this and there are a few options. The first is obviously to see if anyone can use what you have. If they can’t, believe it or not there are centres that will take it.
If there’s enough you can donate your paint to a community scheme that will ensure your paint is either used in another home, or community project.
Depending where you purchased your paint, if it has never been opened, most merchants will take if back, offering a refund or store credit. B&Q offer 135 days for you to take back any unopened paint you have.
It is usual to keep paint. It enables you to touch up any bangs or scrapes, but unfortunately paint does go bad, over time or when it’s out in the elements it does become unusable. If you have paint like this it can’t just be chucked out. If there’s only around a centimetre left in the pot, the recommendation is to get some cardboard and paint it- get scraps to use up the paint, let it dry and then you only have the pot to get rid of. Your local recycling centre will take both empty plastic and metal paint tins, though they must be empty!
If you have more than a centimetre and can’t use it up, you have to ensure the paint in the pot is hard before you can dispose of it. You can buy paint hardening powder, but you can also use soil or sand. Pour it into the pot, mix it up and leave the lid off until it hardens. Your recycling centre will then take the full tin from you, as long as the paint has hardened.
These are the jobs we all leave till last, no one wants to to this stuff, but if lockdown carries on, we might just get round to it.
However you are spending your time just now, I hope you are doing it safely, and finding a happy place amongst all of the uncertainty surrounding us.
If you have paint to be used and have a plan for it, please remember us when this is all over. Our team is ready to go as soon as we are able!
The painters wife xxx
01236 424 804
