As a professional decorator, I probably use more wallpaper paste in a year than “Joe Public” but tend to have very little leftover to dispose of, for reasons that I’ll explain shortly.
But let’s just assume that you’ve finished a wallpapering job and have half a tub (or half a bucket) of wallpaper paste left, that you have no opportunity to use in the foreseeable future; what are you supposed to do with it? We’re all trying to do our bit for the environment, but is there a way to get rid of unwanted wallpaper paste in a responsible way?
Different Types of Wallpaper Paste
Essentially there are two main types of wallpaper paste – ready-mixed and the stuff in a sachet that you need to mix with water. I have found over the last few years that I’m using more and more ready-mixed paste, and significantly less of the mix-it-yourself type, mostly due to the growth of paste-the-wall wallpapers.
The starch-based sachet pastes (often known as “flake” among decorators) are ideal for traditional papers, but not so suitable for paste-the-wall papers. You can read more about the different types of wallpaper paste here.
I tend to use different disposal methods depending on the type of paste, so it’s important to understand the difference.
Read the Instructions
Manufacturers obviously have a much clearer idea about what ingredients and chemicals are used in making their products. Some of these chemicals may be hazardous or harmful to the environment, so the first place to look for advice on how to dispose of leftover wallpaper paste is on the packaging.
If there’s no information on safe disposal on the packaging, try going to the manufacturer’s website and looking up the Product Data Sheet (or Safety Data Sheet) for the specific product you are using. There are usually sections in there titled “Disposal Considerations”, “Toxicological Information”, and/or “Accidental Release Measures”; these should give you some idea of how to dispose of leftover paste, or how not to. Unfortunately, some of them are less helpful and say things like “Dispose of in line with local authority guidance”, and finding specific local authority guidance is not always easy either.
How to Dispose of Unwanted Ready-Mixed Wallpaper Paste
Ready-mixed is the easiest type of paste to dispose of if you have excess, and yet I hardly ever need to.
If the lid is fitted firmly on the tub, and it’s protected from extremes of heat and frost, half tubs of ready-mixed paste can be stored for several months (by which time I’ve usually started another wallpapering job and can use it up, so no wastage). Sometimes I put clingfilm over the paste in the tub just to be on the safe side, but I’m not sure it actually helps much.
If for some reason you do have leftover ready-mixed paste to dispose of, the method couldn’t be much easier. Simply remove the lid, leave the tub somewhere warm and dry (out of reach of children and animals), and get on with more important things! After a week or so a skin will form, and after 3-4 weeks (depending on how much paste is left) it will have dried out completely, allowing you to scrape it out into a bag and dispose of it with your household waste.
How to Dispose of Flake Wallpaper Paste
Disposing of unwanted “mix-it-yourself” “flake” paste is a bit trickier. Because it has a very high-water content, leaving it to dry out in the bucket could take years (I don’t know for sure, I’ve never tried). My local recycling centre offers no advice whatsoever, and there are no “ideal” answers from an environmental perspective. All I can do is offer you a few not-quite-ideal suggestions, and leave it to you to choose which one you feel more comfortable with:
Pour it down the sink
NO – DO NOT DO THIS! Particularly not with undiluted paste. The chances are that it will block your u-bend, or somewhere else in the drainage system, and additionally you’re leaving the responsibility of dealing with all your chemicals to your local water company (and let’s be honest, according to the news they have enough problems to be dealing with already!).
Pour it down the toilet or outside drain
Again, this is not ideal, but if you dilute the paste with a lot of hot water (try to get it as close as possible to the consistency of water), and mix in some detergent to help break down the starch, at least the chances of blockages are greatly reduced. But you’re still leaving your water company the problem of dealing with your waste chemicals.
Mix in some cat litter to absorb the moisture content
I read about this online somewhere, and it does work. Simply pour in a load of cat litter, give it a good stir, and leave it overnight. Give it another stir in the morning to make sure there are no “pockets” of paste which haven’t mixed in properly. Leave for another 24 hours and then simply scrape it out into a bag and place in your household waste. Yes, cleaning the bucket out afterwards is a bit messy, but I do think this is probably more responsible than tipping the paste down the drain.
FAQs
Can I wash wallpaper paste down the sink?
You might wash a pasting brush in the sink, but avoid putting large amounts of paste down the drain. It can solidify and block your u-bend, plus the chemicals are a problem for the water companies.
Does washing-up liquid remove wallpaper?
Decorators have been adding washing up liquid to hot water for decades to remove wallpaper. Washing up liquid does work, but products like Pretty Boy Brush Cleaner and Zinsser DIF are even better.
Can I put wallpaper in my recycling bin?
No, waste wallpaper needs to go to landfill unfortunately, but the packaging can often be recycled.
Can you use leftover wallpaper paste?
Flake paste soon spoils after you’ve hydrated it. It stays fresh for about a month if you keep it in a cool dark place. Ready mixed paste stays fresh for months, so you can sore it until the next time you’re decorating.
Is wallpaper paste hazardous waste?
Wallpaper paste isn’t considered hazardous, but it does contain fungicides, preservatives, biocides etc.
Final Thoughts
We all want to do our bit for the environment, and dispose of our waste responsibly. The best solution is to reduce the amount of waste in the first place; by using ready-mixed paste and storing any leftovers securely for next time, there should be no need for any waste at all.
The problem comes when using flake paste, because it can’t be stored, but it’s difficult to dispose of because it takes forever to dry out. Pouring it down the drains isn’t very environmentally responsible, and according to a “hypothetical” conversation I had with an engineer from one of the water companies, it causes them problems and is very questionable legally. So, the best thing to do (although nobody likes anything going to landfill) is to bag it up and take it to the tip.
I hope this is helpful – as I say, there are no ideal solutions, other than trying to find ways to reduce wate in the first place.
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