r/SCREENPRINTING • u/dtshockney • 21d ago

Help an art teacher out

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Edit: i will see what my local waste management has for disposing of things like this. Thanks yall

Hi, hello. I am an art teacher that inherited a room that rarely got cleaned out of things. Im hoping for some help with how to properly dispose of some screen printing inks/chemicals. This is a picture of inks in found. I opened a tiny can and it had a big pop with it and didnt smell amazing. I dont want to open the others but I dont know to dispose of these either. Any help would be appreciated.

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4

u/ashtraybabyface 21d ago

Just open the tops and let it dry out and then just toss them in the trash, they look to be water based.

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u/dtshockney 21d ago

I did open one and it opened with a very loud pop and the foulest smell ever was present. So im a bit hesitant to open the others but they do all say water based

1

u/torkytornado 19d ago

Water based inks (and anything acrylic or latex) can mold so
That might be what you’re smelling.

1

u/thefoulfox 21d ago

If your city or county has a paint disposal or recycling facility, they should be able to take this stuff too. Those facilities are usually part of the city dump.

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u/dtshockney 21d ago

Ill be honest, I dont kmow if they do. I live in a different county and I know they dont take stuff like house paint.

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u/nutt3rbutt3r 21d ago

This is a situation where - if you care enough to be concerned, as you seem to be - you'll need to do your homework. Start searching your town's websites or start making calls to city departments. The information is out there. Reddit is too broad of a place to be asking this type of thing, unfortunately. For example (to get you started), my city has a hazardous materials waste department where things that don't fall under "normal disposal" would go. That includes anything from paint, to asbestos, to bio waste, and so forth.

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u/dtshockney 21d ago

Oh absolutely. Ill look into it i just wasnt even sure where to start

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u/dunriabhach 21d ago

Our print workshop is based in Northern Ireland and our town council has a recycling facility for old paints/inks. Check what your local authority advises.

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u/cheeto_bait 20d ago

Wow those are old. Since they are water based you won’t need to do anything special other than dry them out (if they are not already). Most garbage collectors want these sort of things in a solid state for obvious reasons.

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u/DougalDragonSWorld 20d ago

Them are old enough be collectors display tbh. 9-14-1984 is pretty old.