disposing old finish

[DogwoodTales]

Simple question - How to dispose of old water based finish?

The wb finish I have is 3+ years old floor finish (various products and sheens - thus how I ended up with a bunch left over from my floor refinishing days).
So I wouldn't trust putting this stuff on any project I cared about, much less a floor.

I know one method that the dump would accept is if I put it onto something like card board and let it dry before putting it in the garbage.
But I have quite a bit to get rid of and that method would take a lot of cardboard - which should be recycled anyway.

[MarkSingleton]

Leave it open and let it dry out.  Toss out in the trash.

  To avoid the smell/fumes while such things dry I 
  set them out in the yard , under something to keep
  rain out but air circulating. 

  Never had a problem.

[goaliedad]

Mix it with cat litter. Bag it once it is dry. Trash day

[Restorer]

Don't you have a recycle center that will take it?  Even my small town center takes in paint and other finishes.  Will take a whale of a lot of cat litter to soak up what it sounds like you have.   I know the paint they just mix altogether in a 55 gal drum and then sell for next to nothing whatever color it turn out at the time the barrel is full.

[joespehar]

In our area a group of towns will have one or two hazardous waste recycling and disposal days a year.  There are always long lines, usually on a Saturday.  Giving it away for free (through craigslist or some similar site) is a good way to get rid of paint and most junk ("One man's treasure...").  Cat litter or sawdust and wood chips ( I have a couple garbage cans full usually) can soak it up and dry it for  disposal in the trash.  There is also some stuff you can get at Home Depot or other hardware and paint store that you mix into the can that solidifies the paint.

[fredhargis]

Along the lines of the cat litter suggestion, one other medium to use would be sawdust.

[chips ahoy]

I take it to my local recycler along with old paint and any other hazardous liquids.

Mel

[AUswimKC]

I've tried the kitty litter and sawdust. Seems to make it take longer to dry. and impossible to stir. One way or another the water or solvent needs to dissipate.

When I moved the previous HO left like 20 partial gallons of crap. There is no recycling center that doesn't charge around here and you're not supposed to mix it. At $5 a gallon I had to find a better way. for a while I just left the paint open with the lid cracked. Seemed to dry ok. Once my patience ran out, I left the can out with the lid cracked, but I also had a few lids of paper boxes. I taped the seams and every few hours when I walked by I would pour a bit of paint into the lid. It would dry in a few hours and I would pour in some more. Left in the sun, I could dry a gallon of paint in a day.

[BloomingtonMike]

Many communities pick a day a year (at least) and recycle paint and finish and other "hazardous materials". Call a local ecology action center.

I let mine dry out and pitch. That or paint a stump in the back 40.

[cvillewood]

Our monthly hazardous waste drop off doesn't take water based, only oil based. They said to dry it out (I used cheap car litter and it works great) and put it in the trash. No paint recycling businesses around here, but there are in some cities.

I had about 30 quarts and 30 gallons of paint the PO left me. Thanks pal!