Product Information
Safe Disposal of Artist Materials
With the growing awareness of environmental concerns, the subject of proper disposal of artists' materials becomes an issue. Improper disposal poses a real danger to soil, water systems and wildlife. The following information is designed to provide you with information needed to bring about a more earth friendly approach to the disposal of artist materials.
Artist Paints
An effort should be made to use up all of the contents of paint tubes before discarding them. Unusable paint and dried out tubes can be wrapped in plastic and discarded in the regualar trash. Paint and sludge should never be washed down the drain. Clean brushes and palettes as much as possible with a rag or paper towel before washing them. This applies to oil based, water or acrylic based paints.
Cleaners, Mediums, Solvents & Varnishes
Solvents and solvent based varnishes should never be washed down the drain and should not be disposed of in the regular trash. Check with your local govenment for the closest hazardous waste station. Keep these in the original container for easy identification.
Waterbased mediums and varnishes can be disposed of as you would waterbased paints. Empty containers can be recycled.
Aerosol Cans
Aerosol sprays are now often ozone friendly but still have to be disposed of at your local hazardous waste station.
Markers & Pens
Markers are not usually considered hazardous and may be put in the regular trash. Currently there is a trend towards refillable rather than disposable pens and markers. This will help our landfill sites by limiting the quantities of these that we throw away.
This information is a guideline only and rules may vary according to your geographical location. Please check with your local government recycling centre for more specific information.
If you find you have unused art materials that still have some life left and that you will no longer use, rather than throwing them away, why not donate them to the art school programs in your local public school system.
