One of the most common projects around the home is painting because it’s such an easy and fairly inexpensive way to update your living space. We have certainly done our fair share of painting and we have plenty of leftover paint to show for it. In fact, when we moved into our home we had an entire cabinet full of paint left from the previous owner.
With all the projects we have done and the leftover paint we found when we moved in, we were left with the task of disposing of all the old paint. We knew that we couldn’t simply throw it in the trash because it is very harmful to the environment if it leaches into the soil. It’s also flammable and toxic and just not something we should ever carelessly toss into the trash. So, how do you throw away paint….the right way?
To throw away paint, you must harden it first, which can be done with cat litter or a commercial paint hardener. Simply mix an equal amount of cat litter with the remaining paint and stir it around until all the liquid has been absorbed. You can then throw away the paint in the trash.
How to use cat litter to harden paint
With all the extra paint we had laying around (probably 10-15 cans), we needed an easy way to dispose of all the old paint responsibly. After doing some research, we decided that using cat litter would be the cheapest and easiest way to harden the leftover paint so that we could throw it away.
To harden paint with cat litter, follow these steps:
- Prepare the paint: Stir the paint well to ensure it’s well mixed.
- Mix in cat litter: Gradually add an equal amount of unscented clay cat litter to the paint and stir until well combined.
- Adjust consistency: If the mixture is too runny, add more cat litter. Repeat until you reach a mixture that looks dry to the point where it would not leak out of the can.
- Allow to sit: Let the mixture sit for a few hours to allow the cat litter to absorb the excess moisture.
- Check the paint: Before discarding, test the paint to make sure the paint is completely dry and replace the lid tightly.
- Discard: Now that the paint is dry and can no longer spill out of the can, you can throw it away as normal.
We decided to harden our paint so that we could throw it away in our trash because our local facility has a limit of 5 paint cans per visit. We had so many left over from the previous homeowner and did not want to make so many trips back and forth.
We purchased this very inexpensive cat litter from Walmart to use as a paint hardener. We started out by adding a small amount of litter to start and stirred it around to see how much paint it absorbed. We then added a little more as needed until there was no liquid left.
A lot of our paint was so old that it had separated into layers and required a lot of stirring to mix it all together and dry out the entire can. The separation of the paint was due to improper storage as all of the paint was left in the garage where the hot and cold temperatures caused the paint to go bad. You can read more in our article about storing paint in the garage.
Why can’t you throw away paint?
Paint cannot be thrown away with regular trash because it is harmful to the environment if it leaks into the soil or water. Even old paint is still liquid and can spill if it is simply thrown away.
Paint should also never be poured down the drain or sewer because it is very likely to cause damage to your pipes and create clogs. Hardening paint is an easy process and doesn’t take a lot of time and will allow you to throw it away once the process is complete.
The other option is to take all of your old paint to your local hazardous waste facility which does not require you to harden the paint. It is usually free to take your paint to your local hazardous waste facility.
Can you throw away oil based paint?
When it comes to oil-based paints, you can use the same method to dry out the paint and discard it once it is completely dry. The biggest thing you need to check is that all the liquid is soaked up into the cat litter or paint hardener. Whether it’s oil-based or latex paints, they become hazardous when they leak or spill, so as long as they are completely dry, they are safe to throw away.