Paint

Paint and varnish that could be reused can be taken to any of north London's reuse and recycling centres (opens in new window), but not Hornsey Street (Islington), Gateway Road (Waltham Forest), Barrowell Green (Enfield). This scheme is part of the Community Repaint (opens in new window) reuse scheme. The leftover paint/varnish is also available for residents to take away for free from these sites.

You can read more about the environmental impact of paint, and how you can use reclaimed paint, on our webpage on paint reuse. 

If product is too old to be reused, there are various ways to dispose of it:

Water-based paint (emulsion)

• Take it to any of our north London reuse and recycling centres (RRC) apart from Hornsey Street (Islington) and Barrowell Green (Enfield).
• If you fully dry it out, the emulsion can be disposed of in your normal rubbish bin. To dry the paint, take the lid off, add some sand or sawdust and then leave for several weeks.

Oil-based paint (gloss) or varnish

Oil-based paint is 'hazardous' and should never be put in the rubbish bin. You can book a hazardous waste collection with the City of London Hazardous Waste Service (opens in new window). This is free for all north London residents.