Guild of Scenic Artists: One of the most important lessons we can learn as Scenics is how to safely discard materials after they’ve been used. Since our sinks can eventually lead to rivers, lakes, and other waterways, many states have developed regulations prohibiting the disposal of paints in this manner. (Example: CA state law) So… how should extra materials be properly tossed after you’ve finished a build?
5 comments:
This is an article I think is extremely important. As someone who has had to deal with sink blockages due to a number of substances that should not have been put down the sink, it’s always important to know the list of what can and cannot be in the sink. Especially as we have so many paints, glues and other substances in our studio that we usually have extra of, it’s important that we be mindful of what things we put down the sink. I know paint is occasionally put down the sink (mostly acrylic or oil) when cleaning off pallets or brushes but folks tend to be pretty good about cleaning the sinks. Nothing is less fun than trying to clean out a sink late at night or earlier in the morning or whenever it is clogged with paint, or hair or whatever has unfortunately ended up in the sink.
This is really important information for people to know. It is good that this information is being shared. I know that a lot of people do not know this stuff but i think every one should know it. It is very important to know how to dispose of the materials that you use for whatever you might be doing. I think that it is also important to know how long the materials that you are using to make a project will last, whether they are opened or unopened. Sometimes you can use materials that are past their shelf life but it is still safer to just stop using them and dispose of them in the best fashion. I just do not understand why this is not common knowledge, why people do not just know that you should not put any of this stuff down your drain because it can either clog your drains or be bad for the environment.
I thought that this article was a very informational tool, during our stage craft paint mini we do go over proper disposal of difference items used in the paint shop but it is always good to learn a little bit more extensively past practices in school of drama, and I think that this article does a very good job of handling a large aray of paints that we may encounter. This article list numerous very good resources for ensuring that we dispose of or hazardous material properly and they go on to also include resources for just general recycling which I always found find helpful as somebody who tries to recycle as much as possible I am especially into textile recycling as that’s what tends to be a large quantity of my waist I contribute to in theatre. I love how much of our industry is aware of the impact we are making on the environment and are striving to better.
This is something I wasn’t super aware of, and I paint with acrylics all the time. I’m glad I stumbled upon this. You know, in your school art classes, teachers are always huge sticklers about cleaning brushes (rightfully so), but none of them ever address this kind of issue. The method of sawdusting really intrigued me. I also was super happy to see a non-for-profit paint recycling program—I had never thought of that kind of thing for paint, beyond donating unopened paints to assorted organizations. What’s unfortunate is being conscious of this (which is very important) brings extra steps (and in cases, extra expenses), which I would imagine may be viewed as tedious, especially after a long painting process. I could be wrong. Honesty, yeah, I’ve washed a lot of paint down the drain. I’d like to stop that habit, but when important information like this isn’t widely spread, we can’t properly accommodate our routines to these needs as adequately as we must. If you’re bound to a studio or other facility, you may not have an evaporation tray or sawdust etc….
As Design and Production majors as well as people who are going into other specific areas (especially Scenic, Costumes, Technical Direction, and more) we will need to deal with many harmful toxic materials. Thankfully we are in an age that normalizes mask wearing so usually that helps when actually working with these materials as well as using (or trying to use ventilated areas). However; an important and sometimes dismissed area is disposal of these materials. How do you know how to throw away these harmful, sometimes very very toxic, materials? This article is quite insightful on that matter. For example, how do we get rid of acrylic paint? While I was taught how to use acrylic paint when I was younger I was not taught how to dispose of these materials properly. I truly can’t say that I remember the last time I put paint down the drain but now I know which paints not to. I think that our trade is full of testing out random materials and seeing what works. There are not really any set rules.
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