FAQ

What is waste paint?

Paint is considered waste paint when the consumer decides that the leftover paint no longer serves a purpose and that it must discarded. In other words, waste paint essentially represents an excess quantity of architectural paint that was purchased for a project; it is not a used product, but part of the original product that was not used.

How to discard old paint containers?

Above all, do not discard the leftover paint with the household wastes or in the sink, as it is proven that paint is a major source of pollution of the ground water table. Eco-peinture recommends that the paint be kept in its original container because this step is essential for recycling the product. To dispose of it, drop it off at a retailer’s outlet participating in our program or at a site designated by the municipality, or dispose of it at the time of a municipal collection of household hazardous wastes (HHW).

Is disposing of old paint containers worth the effort?

Owing to the waste paint recovery process, Eco-peinture and its members have initiated a new sector of economic activity that contributed to divert from waste disposal sites several tens of thousands of tons of paint and paint containers since it was implemented in 2001. Today, approximately 100 jobs are directly related to this activity.

How many collection points dedicated to leftover paint are there in Quebec?

We keep on improving the operational efficiency of the waste materials recovery program. At the end of 2010, there were over 1,400 collection points.

Are there any other collection points in the city of Montreal?

In 2007, we have concluded an agreement with the people responsible for the sustainable development and the economic development of the City of Montreal which consists in the recovery of paint waste for the six ecocentres of Montreal.