Materialsmart finds use for abandoned paint. (Back Page).

An export firm abandoned 35 steel drums, or 2,000 gallons of latex paint at a Portland, Ore., warehouse. At one time, the paint would have been thrown away at considerable cost. Today, the paint is in Toppenish, Wash., awaiting its role in an ongoing graffiti eradication program.

For Mark Gentemann and Jay Wilson of Portland's MG Warehouse, it seemed like a natural thing to do. "We were left with drums of gray latex paint that was still serviceable," Gentemann says. "Rather than let it go to waste or pay nearly $9,000 in disposal costs, we wanted to put it to good use."

Wilson turned to an industrial materials exchange service (IMEX). He found a volunteer team in Toppenish doing graffiti removal and was able to donate the paint there at no charge.

IMEX is a major Northwest exchange site for Northwest Materialsmart, a program designed to help Oregon businesses exchange surplus materials to reduce waste. The Internet site www.nwmaterialsmart.org is the starting point for exchanges.

David Allaway, a waste prevention specialist at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), manages the program, which was developed by a coalition of public and private organizations led by DEQ and Metro.

An independent non-profit group called the BEST Team (Beautify, Educate and Support Toppenish) organizes the graffiti eradication program in cooperation with the City of Toppenish.

"Reusing material is even better than recycling it and definitely better than sending it to the landfill," Alloway says. "It is part of our effort to improve the state's quality of life by both supporting business and promoting the sustainable use of resources."