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When Sunset receives old paint for recycling, they sort it into warm and cool colors (unless the paint contains rust or mold—in which case, it’s off to the cement factory). After re-mixing, they divide it into 5-gallon buckets for the giveaway. They don’t thin it down with water, and they claim that it’s thick, good-quality paint, since old paint contains a higher concentration of solids.

Thinking back to childhood days of mixing paints to come up with a uniformly yucky brown, we wondered if these new colors could possibly be appealing. But the photo above suggests that Sunset does take care in mixing batches to produce decent colors. For a small project—a quick furniture makeover, perhaps?—this seems like a great option.

SF residents can recycle their old paint at the Hazardous Waste Collection facility, or at any of several hardware stores around town that collect it. But you don’t have to live in the city to take advantage of the recycled paint giveaway! Just stop by Hazardous Waste Collection, on Recycle Road off of Tunnel Avenue (directions here), between 8am and 4pm Thursday through Saturday.

Here’s some DIY inspiration from AT, if you want to put that recycled paint to good use:

DIY Inspiration: Painted Furniture

Before and After Dressing Table on Design*Sponge

Anh-Minh's Hand-Painted Wallpaper

How To: Repaint Old Furniture

Thanks to reader Ayse for letting us know about this great service!

Top photo: Stack of Cans by Zela on stock.xchng