Media Release

1:25 p.m.

ALACHUA COUNTY, FL - The Alachua County Environmental Protection Department will be holding the 14th Annual Recycled Latex Paint Giveaway on Saturday, May 3, 2008.  The event will distribute 3,600 gallons of 75% post consumer recycled latex paint, free of charge, to community organizations, civic groups, and people with special needs.  This paint is for homeowners and business owners that cannot afford the cost of new paint.

The Recycled Latex Paint Giveaway event will take place beginning at 8 a.m. at the Alachua County Hazardous Waste Collection Center, located at the Leveda Brown Environmental Park and Transfer Station, 5125 NE 63rd Avenue, just off of Waldo Road, 2 miles north of 39th Avenue.  The recycled paint is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.  It is available in 5-gallon pails with six colors to choose from: off-white, beige, gray, terra cotta, green and blue.  Residents are limited to 10 gallons.

"A total of over 42,000 gallons of recycled paint has been provided to Alachua County residents since the inception of the program in 1994," said Kurt Seaburg, Hazardous Waste Coordinator for the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department.  He added, "The program began as a means of assisting homeowners and businesses beautify their property while recycling a product that still has value."

The cost to recycle the paint is only slightly more than the cost to dispose of the unwanted paint by a solidification process.  The latex paint, collected throughout the year by the Hazardous Waste Program, is shipped to a paint manufacturer where it is blended and repackaged into a 75% post consumer paint that is suitable for either interior or exterior usage.

Residents unable to attend the event may pick up non-recycled free paint of varying quality and quantity and other household products, dropped off by residents who no longer need them, at the Alachua County Hazardous Waste Collection Center's recycle/reuse area during normal business hours: Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon.

For more information about the Recycled Latex Paint Giveaway, call the Alachua County Hazardous Waste Collection Center at 352-334-0440.

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