Forum Topic

Disposal of white spirit

Hello, does anyone know how best to dispose of used white spirit?  I have about a litre of the stiff in a plastic bottle following a decorating job.  Are there any collection points I can take it to locally?  Thanks for any pointers

Alison Foy ● 338d10 Comments

Depending on what the white spirit was used for there are ways you can re-use it.Leave it in a clear bottle and over time the contents will separate leaving the gunk on the bottom.Then you can siphon or strain off the un-contaminated top part and re-use.

Adrian Irving ● 337d

Sadly, the best water-based gloss which was called Mythic is no longer available as the patent was recalled by the US department of defense for whom it was developed.I have skirtings and architraves painted with Mythic which are  pristinely white some 20 years after painting and, of course no solvent smell.  There are now UK produced alternatives and I get mine from Benjamin Moore Paints. Far from cheap but very durable.

N V Brooks ● 338d

Thank you Bruce and everyone very valuable informtion on something I did not know.  I often find the people who use these facilities regularly know better than most what is closed or has changed in the previous few months. I think we need to develope more and more water based paints and no longer use flammable productsin our homes and after a ver informative chat with a Hounslow Repairs painter on Friday morning I now now we have water based gloss available for the ast 30 years or more.  Fast catch up me eh?

Caroline Carney ● 338d

I'm afraid it's not that simple at Townmead Rd Guy:"Good quality usable paint can be deposited in a special container on site. It is then collected and redistributed for use in the community through the RePaint Scheme.No rusty tins or empty pots." And no white spirit or other related liquids. The Townmead website will point you towards the City of London service for things like this. I've never used the Greenford site as it is too far away. Until it closed I used the Bollo Lane site, but they wouldn't take the sort of thing we're discussing anyway.

Bruce Hammal ● 338d

If you don't know how to dispose of anything the obvious place to go is the local council tip. From Chiswick Townmead rd in Kew is the nearest - book a slot first. We recommend city of London only for asbestos - they have special skills to deal with that for all of London

Guy Lambert ● 338d

I wondered that myself, though I can't find any reference to a minimum quantity.The service covers every London Borough, apart from Hillingdon for some reason, and I would guess they group collections together geographically.

Bruce Hammal ● 338d

If you would like to drop it off to me in Boston Manor, I have a slot booked at Greenford Recycling Centre. They have a dedicated paint and solvent recycling point and I will take it over for you.

N V Brooks ● 338d

Thank you Bruce, though the city of london is some way from Chiswick, wonder if they'll come out this far, just for a litre.Mark, it's used white spirit, so can't really be used again, but I don't want to tip it down the drain.Wondering if anyone has ever asked a petrol station if they'll take it, as presumably they must have special disposal facilities.

Alison Foy ● 338d

Paints and related substances have always been a pain to dispose of in this neck of the woods. When I moved house about 5 years ago I had lots of various containers I needed to get rid of. I discovered that the City of London operates a free hazardous waste disposal collection service. You have to itemise what it is you want removed and there are limits as to how much and how often you can use the service, however it did seem to work very well.https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/waste-and-recycling/commercial-waste/hazardous-waste-collection

Bruce Hammal ● 338d

I'll take it off your hands.

Mark Frost ● 338d