Disposal service lets you drop off or pick up paint

In an effort to keep latex paint out of landfills or sewer drains, DuPage County is once again offering a summer-long disposal service for residents.

And anyone wanting free paint of indiscriminate color and finish is welcome to it at the same location.

In its eighth year, the county's latex paint recycling program at the Woodridge Wastewater Treatment Facility at 7900 S. Route 53 is starting June 2.

It's open from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. weekdays through Aug. 15, with a smattering of Saturday hours as well on June 14, June 28, July 12, July 26 and Aug. 9.

"We do this in the summertime because we have summer help, which makes it more cost-efficient," said District 2 DuPage County Board member Jeff Redick.

It cost the county more than $53,000 to run the program at its inception in 2001 when it collected 6,300 gallons of paint that year. The state chipped in another $10,000.

Last year, workers collected nearly 8,000 gallons, and it cost the county less than $18,000 to run it with a state match of nearly $19,000.

When the paint is dropped off, workers separate the canisters by color. Later, similarly colored paint is filtered together to get rid of any impurities like paintbrush strands or wood splinters. The paint is then mixed and separated into five-gallon drums.

"As we go through the process, color changes and gloss gets cut down," Redick said. "We paint the cover so people can see what it's going to turn out like."

Joy Hinz, a county environmental specialist, said the recycled paint routinely goes quickly.

"We don't have many containers that make it into the fall or winter," she said.

One reason is because charitable housing programs such as Habitat for Humanity are regular customers.

However, output of recyclable paint also has dropped since 2001, going from 4,500 gallons to 2,700 last year.

Redick said the quality of the dropped-off material is far less than what it was eight years ago. Unusable paint is dried out, and the state pays for its proper disposal.

Paint by number

Here's a comparison of some figures from DuPage County's recycled paint program.

2001

Gallons collected: 6,313

Gallons recycled: 4,560

People taking paint: 227

County cost: $53,362

State cost: $10,155

2007

Gallons collected: 7,945

Gallons recycled: 2,720

People taking paint: 157

County cost: $17,756

State cost: $18,967

Source: DuPage County