- Be sure to use tarps to collect scraped paint and dispose of it in an area landfill.
- Use latex rather than oil-based paints, and select a low-toxic paint whenever possible (see below).
- Avoid buying too much paint, and safely store or dispose of any leftover paint. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore accepts household paints that meet certain criteria and local Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) centers (see below) also accept household paint for reuse or safe disposal.
- Clean up any paint spills as completely as feasible; take large quantities of unusable paint to your local HHW center.
- Brush, squeeze and drain as much paint as possible from brushes, rollers, trays and other equipment back into the paint containers before cleaning the equipment; clean all painting equipment in sinks which are connected to the sanitary sewer system and treatment plant rather than outdoors.
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- HHW disposal for Missouri residents of metro-KC
- HHW disposal for Wyandotte County residents
- HHW disposal for all Johnson County residents at two locations (mobile pickup is also available to homebound residents):
Storm drains are intended to funnel rainfall and snowmelt to area creeks, streams and rivers and are not connected to the wastewater treatment plant. That means any litter, pet waste, chemicals and other pollutants that end up on the ground instead of being safely disposed of are likely to flow, untreated, into our waters, including the Kaw and Missouri Rivers. Some will flow on eastward to join with the Mississippi River, eventually dumping into the Gulf of Mexico.