Paint Disposal Tips        

Liquid paint cannot be included with regular refuse; however, latex and oil based paint can be left to air dry and solidify to a solid waste. If you have a large amount of paint, you may consider disposal at the Butler County Hazardous Waste Disposal Day.

Tips to solidify latex and oil based paint:

DO:

• Allow the paint to dry by removing the lid and allowing liquids to evaporate in a well-ventilated area.  This works well for small quantities of paint (an inch or two from the bottom of the can), and may take several days.
  
  
• Latex paint can be solidified by mixing an equal amount of absorbent material.  Use cat litter, sawdust, plaster of paris, oil dry, or vermiculite.  One of the best methods to dry paint is to simply mix equal amounts of paint with cat litter.  Mix in the kitty litter with a wooden stick or paint paddle.  Once the mixture dries and hardens, place it with your regular refuse for Rumpke to pick up.
  
  
• Pour thin layers (about 1-inch of paint) into a cardboard box lined with plastic.  Allow the paint to dry one layer at a time until all paint has hardened.  When all paint is thoroughly dry, the remaining hardened paint may be discarded with your regular trash. 
  
  
• Leave the lid off of paint containers so that the waste collector can see that the paint is hardened.
  
  

DON'T:

• Do not dump paint outdoors or into storm drains.  Improper disposal of paint outdoors will cause the paint to travel directly into surface and ground waters.
  
  
• Do not pour paint down the drain.  While small amounts of latex paint can be safely washed down the drain to a septic system or wastewater treatment plant, this practice should be kept to a minimum.  Limit this practice to brush cleaning and clean up only.  Never pour oil based products into the drain.
  
  
• Do not include liquid paint with your regular trash.  The paint may spill out of the container when the trash is compacted, and may seep out of the waste collection vehicle and onto the street.