A paint drive this Saturday will allow residents to recycle excess paint, giving it a second life through nonprofits, schools and low-income individuals.
HOMEstretch and Sherwin-Williams have partnered to host an event at the Sibcy Cline Anderson Realtors parking lot, located at 8145 Beechmont Ave., on May 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The excess paint collected from local residents helps ensure it is properly recycled and repurposed, rather than being dumped down drains or sent to landfills.
The event follows a successful pilot in Cincinnati that collected more than 1,000 cans of paint from local homeowners, said Derek Shewmon, co-founder at HOMEstretch. He added that he expected this year’s event to be even larger than the inaugural drive.
Paint collected at Saturday’s event will be given to Matthew 25 Ministries, Shewmon added.
Matthew 25 Ministries’ Rainbow Paint Reblend Program provides high-quality reblended and recycled latex paint to nonprofits, schools, public facilities and low-income individuals throughout the U.S. and developing countries worldwide, according to the organization’s digital pamphlet.
“That is obviously a worthwhile cause,” Shewmon said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for people to not just throw this in the landfill, but to give it a second life, which is something that we’re happy about.”
Paint is one of the most common products that becomes household hazardous waste when not used, according to the Rainbow Paint Reblend Program. Recycling leftover paint keeps some of these products out of landfills, public waterways and sewer systems and away from accidental human consumption.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that nearly 10% of the approximately 1 billion gallons of paint sold annually becomes leftover paint, equating to nearly 100 million gallons per year. It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to manage leftover paint, according to the Rainbow Paint Reblend Program.