About 10% of all household latex and oil-based paint goes unused in the U.S. – that’s about 80 million gallons each year.

When dumped in the trash or down the drain, unused paint can contaminate our environment with volatile organic compounds, fungicides, and (in the case of very old paint) hazardous metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium.

Reference: https://www.productstewardship.us/page/Paint

An estimated 50 million litres of waste decorative paint is generated in the UK each year. A new industry-led project aims to create a circular economy for such paint, to stop it ending up in landfill.

Reference: https://www.thenbs.com/knowledge/new-life-for-old-paint

“Paints, lacquers and varnishes are among the chemical everyday products that have a particularly distinct effect on environment and health. Solvents, monomers, softening agents, and biocides are only some of the components of these products that present the potential for serious ecological and toxicological risks during their production, manufacture, application, use, and ultimate disposal,” 

Reference: https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/greenpainters/paint-industry-impacts-environment-greenpainters#:~:text=Even%20water%2Dbased%20acrylics%2C%20which,a%20lesser%20degree%20greenhouse%20gases