The Erie County Department of Environment and Planning is again partnering with paint recycling company GreenSheen to offer a no-cost paint collection event from 8:30am to 1:00pm on Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Williamsville. All Erie County residents are welcome to bring as much paint as you can fit in the car and even the cans will be recycled.
The paints and related materials accepted at this collection include oil-based, acrylic, latex, stains, shellacs, lacquers, sealers, varnishes, and urethanes. Items that are not accepted include: spray paint, paint thinner, solvents, cleansing agents, adhesives, roof patch or any other type of household hazardous waste. To find out when Erie County is holding separate household hazardous waste collections events and additional paint-only collections, go to www.erie.gov/recycling .
While New York’s Extended Producer Responsibility Law for paint offers a variety of locations where paint can be dropped off for proper disposal, there is often a limit on the number of cans that are accepted at any one time. GreenSheen is a leader in the latex paint recycling industry with recycling facilities in Denver, Colorado, Kent, Washington, and Rotterdam, New York. GreenSheen’s recycled paint is available at hundreds of retailers across the country.
According to Paintcare, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that operates recycling programs on behalf of paint manufacturers in states with paint stewardship laws, latex paint can often be recycled into new paint and oil-based paint can be re-blended and used as fuel.