I have a bunch of old paint cans in my garage in Burnaby. Where can I recycle them and does it cost anything?

British Columbia has one of the best paint recycling programmes in Canada, managed by Product Care Association. The great news is that recycling leftover paint is completely free for residential quantities — you just need to drop it off at a participating depot.

In the Metro Vancouver area, there are dozens of Product Care drop-off locations. Most major hardware and paint retailers in Burnaby, Vancouver, Surrey, Coquitlam, and surrounding cities accept old paint at no charge. You can find your nearest depot by visiting the Product Care website and entering your postal code. Many depots in Burnaby are open on weekends, making drop-off convenient.

They accept latex paint, oil-based paint, stain, varnish, and paint aerosols. The paint should be in its original container or a sealed substitute container with the product type labelled. They won't accept unlabelled mystery cans or paint that's been mixed with solvents or other chemicals.

Here's what happens to your old paint: latex paint gets recycled into new paint products, while oil-based paints are used as fuel in industrial processes. The steel and plastic containers are recycled separately. BC diverts over 5 million kilograms of paint from landfills annually through this programme.

Before you haul everything to a depot, check if any cans still have usable paint inside. A professional painter can often tell you whether older paint is still viable for touch-ups or small projects. For your next painting project, buy only what you need — most contractors can calculate coverage precisely, reducing leftover paint from the start.

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