Paint can contain harmful constituents. Oil based paints may
contain toxic ingredients such as petrochemicals, solvents, and
heavy metals. Paints made prior to 1960 may contain mercury and
lead. These paint components can lead to severe health risks
when we are exposed to them. Small children are especially
sensitive, and over exposure can lead to serious health problems
and even death. Paint is intended to be used up, yet the reality
is most consumers hang on to their leftover paint until it is no
longer useful. Leftover paint becomes a waste when people change
the color of the room, move, or repaint using fresh cans of
paint and no longer want the old paint. An average of 560
million gallons of household paint are sold in the United States
each year. That’s a lot of paint! Too much of that paint ends up
in our nation’s landfills, or worse, dumped down the drain or on
the ground, polluting the environment. But you can help By
following some simple steps, you can be the key to reducing the
amount of paint tha