Paint recycling program launched
Fairfax County launched a paint-recycling program that will provide job training while reducing waste in landfills.
The 12-month pilot program, announced June 13, is being carried out by the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services in collaboration with Operation Stream Shield and the Washington, D.C.-based Pangea Markets, an organization dedicated to sustainability.
Participants in Operation Stream Shield will receive job training as they repurpose and package the paint. The paint will then be shipped to Honduras, where it will be reused, thus supporting global sustainability efforts.
Operation Stream Shield pays homeless individuals to carry out jobs for the county, such as cleaning up streams, picking up litter, and removing invasive plants, while they learn skills that can lead to improving their lives. Individuals served by the Lamb Center in Fairfax will work on the paint recycling project.
The program aims to recover up to 85 percent of the latex paint generated in the county, which is approximately 2 million pounds a year, said Daniel Brooks, assistant complex manager at the I-66 Transfer Station.
4 responses to “Paint recycling program launched”
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It is unclear where and when to drop off paint.
The “where” seems like the two existing “dumps” in Fairfax and Lorton. This programs sounds like it is for repurposing the paint so it won’t have to be added to the dump, not for adding new drop-off locations.
A lot more could be excluded from trash if there were locations closer to Annandale where items such as paint, electronics, computers, insecticides, lawn mowers, engine oil, etc., could be responsibly disposed of. I went to a store listed as accepting items for recycling like fluorescent light bulbs and small Li-ion batteries. They accepted them but charged for each item. So many I think will choose to put them in the trash instead.
Annandale is not well served by our local government. There is no refuse transfer station ANYWHERE near the eastern parts of the county. As a result, all of our deadly toxics end up in the municipal waste stream. I’m not driving to the western i66 transfer station, or all the way down to Lorton to recycle an old can of paint.
I agree with you regarding the lack of resources in Annandale for recycling anything! It’s disgusting, to be honest. I’m not driving to i66 or Lorton either — they need more locations to drop off materials.