Recycling options for leftover consumer paints - potential and challenges

 
Many half-used cans of paint end up on shelves with still a usable amount of paint left in it. Some of this is used later, but a lot is eventually disposed. Recovery of the raw materials would enable recycling of these, but this process is normally energy consuming and it also destroys part of the value of the paint. Reworking leftovers into a new paint would be a cradle-to-cradle recycling approach, which also retains the value of the product. We have recently launched a wallpaint with a significant recycled content, where this principle is applied. Being able to also recycle other types of consumer paints would add to the sustainability of these product classes and prevent waste formation. In this presentation, different options for potential recycling of unused consumer paints will be discussed, and challenges are addressed.