# Recycling



## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

I was just curious how many of you guys recycle your 5 gallon buckets and gallon cans? 

The PPG store I frequent is trying to get people to recycle 5 gallon buckets by offering .48 cents apiece for them. It got me thinking of how many I toss or leave on the jobs as trash containers or what not. I like to keep at least 10-20 on hand for when I need them but I ditch so many of them. 

Do any of you recycle them? If so do you recycle them at the paint stores, or just a place that takes plastic?


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## upnorthmn (Jun 14, 2009)

The other tradesmen beg for all they can get their hands on. They take them still dirty after I mop them out:thumbup:


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## MAK-Deco (Apr 17, 2007)

I just thought of that recently when I pitched 42 singles empty and dried, they should of gone with the recycle guy but they didn't... Most five i keep all tho being more of a repaint guy i don't have as many fives as most guys.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

I think I am going to start recycling these buckets and work pots. It sure beats them ending up in the landfill.


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## MAK-Deco (Apr 17, 2007)

Workaholic said:


> I think I am going to start recycling these buckets and work pots. It sure beats them ending up in the landfill.



with dried paint or will you clean them out?


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

MAK-Deco said:


> with dried paint or will you clean them out?


I usually rinse the pots out and I rinse out most 5's unless I am planning on trashing it. 

Good point though. I am not sure how clean a work pot has to be to for them to take it. 

When I started this thread I was mostly thinking of the 5's 

Around here a few places have switched to those plastic gallon cans.


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## painting247 (Mar 18, 2009)

2-3 on hand. Don't know WHERE I would store 10-20. It's great that you are not throwing them in the landfill. Here in Nebraska recycling has become more important. We have the city pick up recycling twice a month. Garbage is picked up once a week. We really need to have the recycling once a week as my recycling container fills up much quicker than the trash. The buckets can go in the trash or the recycling as long as the paint is dry.


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

offer us .48 cents and charge us 5bux for them brand new :thinking: wonder if they are going to sale used containers??


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

I probably have 30 in the yard right now! I use them in the garden, picking up after the dogs, my neighbor loves them for feeding the horses. They don't last thru the winter too well, get brittle. The guys will stack them next to the dumpster on the site and they disappear! 

Or you can sell them!


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## y.painting (Jul 19, 2009)

Chris's post got me to look on ebay and this guy has been selling similar buckets on there for some time. I guess people want them. We recycle them...maybe I should be selling them ...probably not worth it with the washing, packing, shipping hassles, though.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

nEighter said:


> offer us .48 cents and charge us 5bux for them brand new :thinking: wonder if they are going to sale used containers??


The used ones will be $4.50


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

SW sent us a letter stating to bring in your old dirty 5's....I took in about 20 a couple of months ago and the boys @ the store thought I was joking. They didn't know what to do with them. I think they tossed em


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

earlier this year I sold some to a guy wanting them. Gave him 10 for 10bux


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

I can't remember when I threw one away last. It is easier to clean out mine with only paste having been in them. People want them. I'm thinking of growing some veggies out of them next year. 

I tried throwing them in the #2 bin at the "transfer station" (we do not have town sponsored curbside trash pick up). But the old curmudgeon said they weren't allowed as people have tried to throw away ones in which driveway sealer came. I showed him how spotless mine were. And he made some idiotic comment, "monkey see monkey do". I did refrain from calling him a freaking monkey. But that was some years ago. The guys there now will let me toss them in the #2 bin if they are clean and metal handle removed. 

Also, another source of ridding yourself of them is freecycle.com. It's a national organization to keep our landfills from getting filled with stuff others can use. You can get rid of almost anything on it. There should be a list-serve in your area.

No PPG store near me - that I know of. I must have 50 around the property. Six are filled with golf balls :thumbup: I use them for all sorts of stuff.


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## mageepainting (Dec 23, 2009)

To clean of couse you guys know that dried exterior paint can be pulled out without much trouble and dried interior paint can be loosen with the bucket full of water till it pulls away.
Then I reuse them for painting or gutter cleaning or store certain tools in my van


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## Induspray (Dec 10, 2009)

I would love to be able to do something more environmentally friendly with the empty pales. We generate quite a lot of them per job. We usually bring in a bin an have them all hauled away. If our customer has a scrap metal bin and the pales are empty then they let us throw them in there. On jobs with lots of latex (plastic pales) there are always plenty of people who want them for growing vegetables in so we dont have as many to dump. Any of the metal 45 Gallon drums we ship back to the manufacturer and they have them cleaned and reused.


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## johnisimpson (Oct 5, 2007)

Once or twice a year I place a listing on craigslist in the free items section and they're all gone before the sun has set. I guess I could start charging a little for them but I'm mainly happy to be rid of them without sending them directly to the landfill. By the way, my PPG store only gives .40 cents per 5.


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## brihtar1170 (Dec 15, 2009)

Used buckets to give the other workers on the site.They use them for work or home.
I live in a place where there are several farms.People are used to feed animals. 
Never sold any, just give them.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

daArch said:


> I can't remember when I threw one away last. It is easier to clean out mine with only paste having been in them. People want them. I'm thinking of growing some veggies out of them next year.
> 
> I tried throwing them in the #2 bin at the "transfer station" (we do not have town sponsored curbside trash pick up). But the old curmudgeon said they weren't allowed as people have tried to throw away ones in which driveway sealer came. I showed him how spotless mine were. And he made some idiotic comment, "monkey see monkey do". I did refrain from calling him a freaking monkey. But that was some years ago. The guys there now will let me toss them in the #2 bin if they are clean and metal handle removed.
> 
> ...


 
You have six 5's filled with golf balls?:blink: I must be reading this wrong but anyway, I get to play maybe 2,3 times a year and always manage to come home with 10 or 20 more than when I started. I gather them all up and take them to the local driving range.


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## Induspray (Dec 10, 2009)

chrisn said:


> You have six 5's filled with golf balls?:blink: I must be reading this wrong but anyway, I get to play maybe 2,3 times a year and always manage to come home with 10 or 20 more than when I started. I gather them all up and take them to the local driving range.


Here's my nephew in a golf related ad. He looks very serious.


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## Viet0002 (Sep 21, 2010)

The most effective way is the source recycling, which may collect most of the waste. And the other can be landfilled.


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

i have stacks.. STACKS of 5's. I used to sell em to people who wanted them. $10.00 for 10. I know SW charges a left arm and a right nut for a blank 5, so does Glidden Pro. You would think these bastids were made of gold.. I want to sell em back to them for $25.00 a 5 just to recoupe some of my lost monies on their products


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