Media Release

ALACHUA COUNTY, FL - The Alachua County Environmental Protection Department will be holding the 17th Annual Recycled Latex Paint Giveaway on Saturday, May 7, 2011.  The event will distribute, free of charge, 3,600 gallons of 75% post consumer recycled latex paint to community organizations, civic groups and people with special needs.  Residents who cannot afford the cost of new paint can use the recycled paint for homes and businesses. 

The Recycled Latex Paint Giveaway event will begin at 8 a.m. at the Alachua County Hazardous Waste Collection Center, located at the Leveda Brown Environmental Park and Transfer Station, 5125 NE 63th Avenue, 2 miles north of 39th Avenue, off Waldo Road.  The recycled paint will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis and will be available in 5-gallon pails with six colors to choose from; off white, beige, gray, terra cotta, green and blue.  There is a 10-gallon limit per resident.

"A total of over 59,000 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.  "The program began as a means of assisting homeowners and agencies 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 is collected throughout the year by the Hazardous Waste Program and shipped to a paint manufacturer where it is blended and repackaged into a 75% post consumer paint and is suitable for either interior or exterior usage.

For any resident that is not able to attend the event, non-recycled free paint of varying quality and quantity, which is dropped off by residents who no longer need it, is available at the Alachua County Hazardous Waste Collection Center's Recycle/Reuse Area.  Residents can pick up this paint and other household products 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, call Kurt Seaburg, Hazardous Waste Coordinator at 352-334-0440 or visit www.alachuacountyhazwaste.us