Bright Idea: Community Paint Exchange This Saturday

By Wendy Osher

Recycled Paint is used for the Annual Paint-a-Can Program. This year 122 brightly colored litter barrels were painted by 36 Maui school. Each year the barrels are used at the County Fair and then circulated to State and County Parks. Photo by Rhiannon Chandler.

A Community Paint Exchange and recycling event takes place this Saturday, October 29, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Whole Foods Market in Kahului.

The event is hosted by the Community Work Day Program, the group in charge of the county’s community paint and household battery recycling efforts.

Items accepted at this event include: Usable paint, primer and stains, and batteries of all types including vehicle batteries.

Items not accepted: Paint that is not usable will not be accepted at the event, and is not accepted at the Central Maui Landfill in liquid form. Residents with paint that is no longer usable are asked to mix their paint with cat litter, lawn clippings, or saw dust to solidify it. Once solidified, paint can be accepted at the landfill.

Paint is in turn offered for free to the public, schools, and non-profit organizations and is used for graffiti cleanups, beautification projects, and the annual “Paint-a-Can” program.

Additionally, wire baskets will be available for an $8 deposit.  The wire baskets allow for drainage and help to keep beverage containers clean and sorted.

“We are always trying to think of ways to make recycling easier. Every little bit helps,” said Rhiannon Chandler, Executive Director of Community Work Day Program.

Aside from Saturday’s event, the Community Work Day Program accepts reusable paint Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.