Recycling unwanted paint
DIY painters and commercial trade painters can now recycle unwanted or leftover paint at the Anglesea Transfer Station through the Paintback program.
Paintback is an industry-led initiative designed to keep paint and packaging out of landfill and is funded through a levy paid by consumers when they purchase eligible paints.
Not all paints can be recycled with Paintback.
What can be recycled?
YES: accepted
- Deck coatings and floor paints
- Interior and exterior architectural paint
- Packaging*
- Primers
- Sealers
- Stains and shellacs
- Undercoats
- Varnishes and urethanes (single components)
- Wood coatings
Empty cans and pails with dried up paint inside are also accepted.
*Paint packaging only includes the plastic and metal containers in which the paint was originally sold.
NO: not accepted
- Aerosol paints
- Anti-fouling coatings
- Artist acrylic paints
- Automotive and industrial surface coating (shop application) paints and finishes
- Automotive paints
- Bagged renders
- Caulking compounds, epoxies, glues or adhesives
- Colorants and tints
- Demolition waste
- General waste – plastic, cardboard
- Household chemicals
- Industrial maintenance coatings
- Isocyanates
- Melamine, metal and rust preventative
- Membrane coatings (waterproofing, renders)
- Metal coatings
- Paint additives
- Paint thinners, mineral spirits or solvents
- Painting equipment – brushes, rollers, trays, rags etc..
- Paint washings
- Resins
- Roof patch or repair
- Tar-based or bitumen-based products
- Texture coatings
- Traffic paints
- Two-component coatings
- All non-paint products
Drop-off location
Anglesea Transfer Station
Take your paint, paint tins and plastic pails to:
Anglesea Transfer Station
50 Coalmine Road
Open 9am to 4pm every day (except Christmas Day)
The gatehouse staff will direct you to the drop-off point. Please make sure your items are in their original packaging.
How much paint can I drop off?
Before leaving home, make sure you meet these requirements:
- Paint must be in its original sealed container
- Maximum size of accepted container is 20 litres
- All containers must have lid and be securely closed
- A maximum of 100-litres per visit. The volume of paint is measured by the size of the container, not the amount of paint inside. For example, you can return:
- 5 x 20 litre paint cans
- 10 x 10 litre paint cans
- 50 x 2 litre paint cans
- Packaging is limited to the original plastic or metal containers
Why is there a limit on how much paint I can drop off?
The limits are in place to ensure there is enough space for others to drop off their unwanted paints.
The 100-litre maximum is based on the capacity of the container, not the volume of paint left over in the container.
Only empty containers can be stacked inside larger empty containers provided the largest container does not exceed 20 litres in capacity.
What happens to the waste paint?
The paint is taken to a specialist recycler where the packaging and waste liquids are separated.
The containers are recycled, subject to contamination. The solvent paint can be used as an alternative energy source. Water is separated from acrylic paint, with the by-product used in a variety of industrial applications significantly reducing landfill.
Find out more: paintback.com.au