Access, safety and compliance

What happens to waste and washings after a job

Labelled leftover paint tins with colour references stacked beside a client's cupboard.

A decorating contract generates more than finished walls — offcuts of masking, empty tins, used abrasives, leftover paint and the rinse water from cleaning brushes and rollers. None of it is dealt with by pouring it down the nearest drain, and we plan disposal as part of the job rather than an afterthought.

Questions we are asked about this

Do you leave leftover paint for us to keep?

If you want it, yes, clearly labelled with colour and product reference. Otherwise we remove it rather than leaving tins for you to deal with.

Where does brush washing water go?

Never down a surface water drain — we use a foul drain in small quantities where available, or collect larger volumes for proper disposal.

What about paint scrapings from old lead-suspect joinery?

These are bagged separately from general waste and disposed of through a route appropriate to that material, not mixed into the ordinary skip.

Brush and roller washings

Rinse water from cleaning equipment is never tipped into a surface water drain or straight onto soil. Where a suitable foul drain is available on site we use it in small, sensible quantities; larger volumes of paint-laden water are collected and taken away rather than discharged locally.

Rinse water never discharged to surface water drains
Larger volumes of paint-laden liquid collected for appropriate disposal
Brush cleaning stations sited away from gullies and soakaways

Solid waste — tins, sheeting, abrasives

Empty and part-empty tins, used masking, and spent abrasive material are separated and removed from site rather than left mixed in a general skip, particularly where a specialist coating or lead-suspect debris is involved and needs its own handling route.

Leftover paint and unused material

Where a client wants leftover paint kept for future touch-ups, we leave clearly labelled tins with the colour reference recorded. Anything not wanted is removed rather than left for the client to work out how to dispose of.