Eco-friendly painting tips for businesses

Conscientious businesses are always looking for ways to show their customers and employees that they care about the environment. With growing concerns about the potential health effects of the chemicals we encounter in our day-to-day lives, using eco-friendly paint for the office is something that can create a sense of well-being among those who work there, and it demonstrates a company's sense of environmental conscientiousness.

Here are some tips for how to incorporate this eco-sensibility into your next redecorating process. These include:

• Using Eco-Friendly Paint

• Emphasizing Re-Use and Recycling of Materials

• Reducing Waste

• Ensuring Proper Disposal of Materials

1. Use The Right Kind Of Paint:

You can actually smell the difference between paint that is environmentally-friendly and paint that isn't when you open the paint can. Traditionally, paint makes use of solvents known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), mixed with a variety of other substances. These VOCs are largely responsible for the chemical smell we associate with fresh paint. Even paints with low VOCs sometimes contain other problematic hazardous air pollutants, or HAPs. By contrast, eco-friendly paints are comparatively odor-free, because of their lack of environmentally harmful materials.

Certified green paints are tested by independent organizations to make sure that they will have as little impact on the environment and consumers' health as possible. Another option is natural paints, made from natural substances, as their name implies. Where traditional paints raise concerns about potentially negative effects on the health of workers and contribution to smog in the environment, eco-friendly paints do not release chemicals into the air, making them better for employees' health and comfort.

2. Emphasize Re-use and Recycling:

An important option for eco-friendly painting is using recyclable materials. For a smaller project, in particular, consider using recycled paint – unused paint from other consumers' projects that has been donated and made available either through local government bodies or local retailers.

In addition, if you are reluctant to buy high-quality brushes and roller covers instead of inexpensive paint applicators, remember that these can be saved and re-used for other painting projects, while the applicators would have to be thrown away. Not only is this more efficient, but it may actually reduce costs over time.

Look for any opportunity to use recyclable or already recycled materials. Other options are recyclable (or at least biodegradable) tray liners for your paint trays. You can even re-use fabric or purchase drapery cloth or sheets from a local thrift store, instead of buying new canvas drop cloths.

3. Avoid Waste:

At the end of any substantial painting or re-decorating project, significant quantities of un-used paint are often left behind. The impulse to buy extra just to be on the safe side is understandable. No one wants to end up needing more paint and to encounter difficulties matching the color exactly to what they already have.

Nonetheless, careful measurement before a project can allow you to come up with an accurate estimate of how much paint you will need. You can consult the brand of paint for a statement of how many square feet a gallon of paint will cover. In order to be environmentally responsible, avoid buying much more than necessary.

There are also measures you can take to avoid waste once the painting process begins. By sealing paint cans carefully when they are not in use, it is possible to ensure that paint doesn't dry out. Similarly, during breaks from painting, wrap brushes and roller covers in plastic.

4. Proper Disposal of Supplies:

Once the project is complete, be sure to use eco-friendly methods for disposing of your painting supplies. Remove excess paint from the brushes and/or rollers before washing them, and don't pour any leftover paint down the drain! Instead, recycle any remaining paint if possible – check with your county to see if they have a paint recycling program. It may also be an option to donate it to organizations like Habitat for Humanity that construct homes for the needy. Look into what materials can be re-used. Not only the brushes and rollers, but also any paint thinners or mineral spirits may be possible to store for use in another project.

If you are going to dispose of paint, make sure to do it properly. Oil paint should go to a hazardous waste collection site, while latex-based paint can be converted to solid waste by opening the lid and allowing solvents to evaporate (in a secure place like the garage) or for larger amounts by pouring it into an absorbent materials like shredded newspaper and then allowing it to dry. It can then be disposed of in the trash.

Even if you can't incorporate all of these tips, do as much as you can. Several small steps can add up to just as much as a single large one!