Tips for Your Agency > Maintenance

Paint

When getting ready to start a painting project, consider adopting or requesting a service provider to follow these guidelines.

• Buy the right amount of paint for the job. Generally, a gallon of paint covers 350 square feet of walls or ceiling. Talk to your paint vendors to determine how much paint is needed for your next paint job.

• Purchase paint in the largest size containers available, to reduce the number of containers you’ll be discarding.

• Select paint that is specially formulated to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs contribute to air pollution and can cause adverse health effects, including eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; and nausea. Light-colored paints typically have the lowest concentration of VOCs. See resources for more information about environmentally preferable paint and vendors for companies that manufacture low-VOC or no-VOC paint.

• Reduce odors and air emissions by selecting latex rather than oil paint whenever possible. Latex paint also cleans up with just soap and water — no toxic and flammable paint thinners to worry about. Oil-based paint may be necessary for some uses, like outdoor applications or unpainted wood surfaces.

• Consider purchasing recycled paint. Recycled paint is made with paint collected from residents and is completely re-manufactured to assure consistent performance. Recycled paint is sorted, tested, filtered, mixed, and adjusted for quality. When necessary, additional ingredients are added to assure consistent performance, coverage, and color consistency. Recycled paint has recently been introduced into the marketplace and is available to New Yorkers. Select the paint that best meets your needs. If you can’t find a recycled paint in the color you need, remember to keep recycled paint in mind for future paint jobs. The range of recycled paint colors will continue to expand.

• Donate leftover paint instead of discarding it. Before donating items, City Agencies must follow procedures for relinquishment of City property.

ALSO SEE paint in the reducing toxics section for more information on the toxic constituents, potential health effects, and less-toxic alternatives for paint, paint thinner, and paint stripper. Resources and tips for your business also contain information and tips on improving paint usage in industrial or commercial applications.

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