Environmental update for painters

Environmental update

Paint, you can love it or hate it, but either way you should treat it with respect.

A fresh coat of paint is one of the best ways to refurbish any home or business, however a number of issues are associated with paint ingredients, manufacturing process, application, and disposal of paint and there containers. These concerns are becoming more of a concern to consumers and should be taken into consideration when quoting.

There are now several paint manufacturers who produce products that carry the Environmental Choice eco-label and offer a sustainable alternative.
Mineral turps is sometimes used as a thinner and could contain up to 20% benzene, which is a carcinogen and mutagen in chronically exposed workers.
Water borne paints are much safer to work with as they contain little or no hydrocarbon solvent.

Information from the Ministry of environments web site

Ensure painting contractors:

use paints that meet the Environmental Choice criteria
Dispose of used pails/cans and excess paint responsibility. Paint recycling facilities exist in some centres. See Paintwise for more details.
Complete painting at least two days before occupancy and consider full 'flushing' of the building before occupancy (for example, by leaving windows open or running the building ventilation system for two days).

Useful resources and information
The following companies have products licensed by Environmental Choice New Zealand. An up-to-date list of the license criteria is on the Environmental Choice New Zealand website.
For further information on the products contact the

companies directly:

Enviropaints Ltd (email: info@enviropaints.co.nz)
Dulux Paints Ltd
PaintPlus (email: enquiries@paintplus.co.nz)

Resene (email: advice@resene.co.nz).

Case study: paint
Plenty of options are available with the Environmental Choice eco-label. The Ministry selected paint from the wide range available.

Key things to avoid: aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, halogenated solvents, ethylene glycol, mercury, arsenic, selenium, lead, cadmium, chromium VI, antimony, formaldehyde, lead or titanium dioxide.
To help you compare different products, use the following questionnaire with suppliers and/or manufacturers, where products with an ecolabel (eg, Environmental Choice New Zealand) are unavailable:

Written by Paul Holcombe of HDL the painting professionals www.hdl.co.nz