LATEX PAINT RECYCLING:
TIPS ON QUALITY CONTROL AND MARKETING
Jim Quinn
Solid Waste and Recycling Department
Metro
Portland, Oregon
ABSTRACT
Many HHW collection programs struggle with the question of what to do with latex paint. It is a significant portion of the waste that residents want to bring to HHW programs, but is significantly less hazardous than other products and consumes financial resources that could be used for other more hazardous wastes.
This paper describes a successful latex paint recycling operation in the Portland, Oregon area, and includes a number of tips on processing latex paint so as to produce a desirable product, and on marketing the paint, in order to recover some or all of the costs of recycling.
INTRODUCTION
Latex paint makes up about 40% of the 4 million pounds of hazardous waste that Metro’s Hazardous Waste Program collects annually from households and businesses. In 1992 Metro developed an innovative recycling process to manage the latex paint received. In August of 1999 the paint recycling operation was moved into a new custom-designed building, and began production of 5-gallon pails of “MetroPaint” for sale.
Unwanted latex paint is received from a variety of sources, including: two permanent hazardous waste facilities that serve both the public and small businesses, a series of HHW collection events around the region, two paint retail stores that accept unwanted paint from the public, and latex paint from the HHW programs of several neighboring counties, which Metro picks up for a fee. In fiscal year 2002-2003 we took in about 177,700 gallons, and produced 116,100 gallons of MetroPaint. To date we have taken in nearly one million gallons, from which over 660,000 gallons of good paint has been returned to the community.
Metro’s latex paint recycling program has three primary goals: 1) provide a convenient, environmentally sound disposal option for unwanted latex paint, 2) benefit the citizens of the region by providing low-cost paint to government agencies and non-profit organizations, and 3) cover the operating costs of the program by generating revenue.
WHY COLLECT LATEX PAINT? WHY RECYCLE LATEX PAINT?
HHW programs have limited resources, and many have chosen not to collect latex paint, and instead focus their efforts on other more hazardous products. However here are three arguments in favor of collecting latex paint:
1. There are few options for consumers with leftover paint. The National Paint and Coatings Association, along with many other organizations, provides advice to consumers to minimize waste latex paint. This includes carefully buying the correct quantity, giving leftovers away to other users, and drying out or solidifying residues. Metro also encourages consumers to try these methods. In spite of this, there are many residents of the Metro region with significant quantities of latex paint needing disposal. Since it cannot go down the drain or into the trash can, Metro’s program provides a reasonable disposal option.
- Paint serves as a “loss leader” for other more hazardous wastes. Residents with relatively small quantities of hazardous products such as pesticides or pool chemicals might not be motivated to use disposal services. However, when disposal of paint is also available at the same site, they may be more likely to bring everything hazardous to that site along with their unwanted paint.
- Latex paint is a recyclable resource. All of the arguments that apply to recycling of other commodities also apply to latex paint: Recycling reduces use of raw materials, saves energy, reduces pollutants, conserves water, etc.
OK, suppose you have decided to collect latex pain- what should you do with it? Some programs that do collect it simply solidify it for landfill, or dispose of it in some other manner that does not include recycling. There are however environmental, financial, and community benefits to recycling latex paint that is collected, including:
Environmental benefits
Recycling paint reduces landfilling of significant quantities of leftover paint (and paint cans). Currently Metro’s program handles nearly 200,000 gallons of latex paint annually, of which over 65% is made into “MetroPaint”, our 100% recycled content product. On average incoming cans of paint are less than half full, so our program is handling over 440,000 containers of paint each year. Thus we’re keeping about 1000 tons of paint and over 200 tons of steel cans out of the landfill every year. The Product Stewardship Institute estimates that there are approximately 40 million gallons of unwanted paint generated nationally each year, of which about 50% is latex. A national recycling program similar to Metro’s would thus prevent landfilling of 100,000 tons of waste paint and over 20,000 tons of cans.
Use of recycled paint reduces the manufacture of virgin paint, which conserves water, raw materials, and energy, and generates less pollution. Life cycle analysis of latex paint shows significant environmental impacts during the extraction of raw materials, the manufacturing process, and transportation of final products. A significant percentage of the ingredients in latex paint are derived from petrochemicals, the extraction of which results in various environmental impacts, notably air emissions and waste discharges to surface waters. The extraction of titanium dioxide, another important latex paint ingredient, results in the production of significant quantities of sulfuric acid, metal sulfates, and metal chlorides, wastes which are commonly disposed of in the ocean, or via deep well injection. The paint manufacturing process also uses energy and water and generates pollution, and the transportation of paint products to market uses fuel and generates pollution. Studies of the “embodied energy” of latex paint- the sum of all energy expended during its production & transportation- show 30,000 to 40,000 Btu/pound, which is substantially higher than glass, steel, construction lumber, and other building products.
Financial benefits
If a community has decided to collect and recycle latex paint, then developing an in-house recycling system will almost certainly be less expensive than sending it to a contractor for recycling. There are some very “low-tech” approaches to paint recycling- the kind of expensive facility that Metro built is really only needed when very large volumes of paint are handled.
If a community has decided to collect latex paint but would consider options other than recycling, they may be able to find cheaper options. Paying a contractor to solidify latex paint is generally cheaper than having a contractor recycle it, but an in-house recycling system will probably be cheaper than any contractor option. What will beat in-house recycling for price is solidifying the paint in-house for solid waste disposal. While this is a very inexpensive option, in Metro’s case our recycling system turns out to be even cheaper overall- the revenue we collect makes our system cheaper than even doing our own solidification.
Community benefits
A paint recycling program can provide low cost paint for non-profit organizations and government agencies, many of which are facing serious funding shortages and might not be able to afford paint at all unless it is low cost recycled paint. This can provide positive PR in the community, which can be a valuable commodity for a government agency in today’s anti-government climate.
METRO’S PROCESSING OPERATION
History
Metro’s first permanent HHW facility started operation in early 1992. Prior to the opening of that facility a consultant was hired to help plan a latex paint recycling program, to be implemented upon startup. Between 1992 and 1999 Metro’s latex recycling operation was housed in a makeshift facility converted from a solid waste loading tunnel adjacent to our HHW facility. During this time the recycled paint was poured into 55-gallon drums.
Over the years Metro tried more than one approach to finding users for the recycled product in drums. For the first few years, Metro had a partnership with a local paint manufacturer, Rasmussen Paint. Rasmussen took some of the paint Metro generated and used it in the manufacture of a line of recycled content products. Rasmussen’s marketing of these products was not as successful as hoped, and the partnership was discontinued in 1994.
Through mid-1999, 55-gallon drums of paint were given away, primarily to government agencies and non-profits organizations. In August of 1999 Metro’s paint recycling operations were moved into a new custom designed building, and a number of changes were made.
Custom-designed latex paint processing facility
During the summer of 1999 Metro moved its latex recycling operations into a new custom-designed processing facility. This facility, costing nearly $700,000, provided significant improvements in the recycling process. First a number of health and safety features were incorporated into the new facility, including improved ventilation and ergonomically-designed workstations. Second, the new facility allows for a significant decrease in operating costs. Processing is more efficient and the facility includes an inexpensive means of disposing of the unrecyclable portion of latex paint received. Finally, the new process is designed to repackage the recycled paint into 5-gallon containers. Because these containers are much more convenient than the drums previously offered, and because the quality of the paint produced is consistently very high, Metro began selling the recycled paint to help recoup the costs of operating the program.
Process overview
· Cans are received and carefully sorted by reading every label, opening each can and checking contents for usability. As much 80% of the paint received is of reusable quality.
· The paint is separated into 12 separate color batches and poured into 300-gallon holding tanks for the respective colors. Each color includes a blend of both interior and exterior paints, and all finishes from flat to gloss.
· Once full, each tank of paint is mixed, then put through a filtering process to remove particulate matter. Filtration is at 300 microns, similar to virgin paint manufacture, allowing the paint to be used in spray applications.
· Once filtered, paint is pumped into pre-labeled 5-gallon containers for retail sale.
· Periodic testing of the recycled product is done to assure users that the paint does not contain significant levels of lead, mercury or other heavy metals or hazardous organic compounds.
· The non-recyclable paint is put into 55-gallon drums and mixed with an absorbent product, creating a solidified, non-hazardous material that can be disposed of as solid waste.
The process that Metro uses is sometimes referred to as re-blending or consolidation, terms that more accurately describe the process, although the term recycling is commonly used.
Facility features
300 gallon tanks. A separate 300-gallon pallet-mounted plastic tank is dedicated to each of twelve basic colors, and all good paints of certain colors are poured into the designated tank. While the 55-gallon drums used previously varied noticeably from batch to batch of the same color, we have found that there is enough homogenization of the end color in the tanks that the difference is almost indistinguishable from batch to batch.
Elevated processing area. In order to pour paint into the tanks, and to facilitate the location of all work surfaces at comfortable working heights, the entire processing area is in a separate, elevated portion of the facility. Paint is raised up to the area with a forklift, all sorting and pouring of cans occurs in the elevated area, and paint drains down into either the 300-gallon tanks, or the waste latex drum located directly below the processing area. This processing area is enclosed in order to maximize the effectiveness of the HVAC system.
Solidification of waste paint. The facility includes an inexpensive means of disposing of the unrecyclable portion of latex paint received. Previously, drums of waste latex were sent to a hazardous waste contractor for disposal at a relatively high cost. In the new process a bentonite clay absorbent material is added to drums of waste, then an air-driven mixer blends the absorbent and waste so that free liquids are absorbed, rendering the waste suitable for solid waste disposal. Solidified waste is brought to the solid waste transfer station on the same site.
Filtering and pour-off station. Full tanks of recycled paint are blended thoroughly, then pumped through a system of filters, with the final filtration through a 300-micron filter. Filtered paint is then dispensed into 5-gallon pails. The pails include preprinted labels front and back Pails are loaded onto pallets and brought to a storage area for later sale.
Sales office. The facility includes a “factory outlet” point of sale for Metro’s recycled paint. Most of the paint sold is purchased by customers coming to this location. The sales office includes informational brochures and handouts, samples of painted wood blocks, pictures of buildings that used Metro Paint, samples of colors achieved by blending the paint, an informational video, and other aids to selling the recycled product.
Waste oil heater. Although not directly related to processing of paint, the heating system for the building is worthy of mention. A burner designed to use waste oil heats the building; this reduces operating costs by utilizing waste oil collected from households at Metro facilities to be burned as fuel.
MARKETING
Product Selling Points
As evidenced by the rapidly increasing sales volume for MetroPaint, it is a good product with a number of strong selling points, which include:
· Low Cost: The standard selling price for MetroPaint ranges from $20 to $30 per five-gallon pail. Equivalent new paints typically cost three to four times as much. The special pricing we offer to government agencies and non-profits are especially attractive for this customer group.
· Quality Control: Each incoming can of paint is opened and inspected and only good quality paint goes into the recycled product.
· High Solids Content: Much of the incoming paint has been in storage for long periods of time resulting in the evaporation of the water content, which results in a high solids mix. Consequently, paint covers well and often requires only one coat.
· Color Consistency: Each 5-gallon container is labeled with the batch number, allowing customers to get additional paint from the same batch when it is still available. In addition, by using 300-gallon batches we have found the color to be remarkably consistent batch to batch.
· Multi-use: The paint can be used on interior or exterior surfaces and on a variety of materials including wood, masonry, concrete, vinyl and metal. It can be brushed, rolled or sprayed.