Me pēhea te aukati i ngā para peita kia kore ai e whakamate i o tatou arawai How to stop paint polluting our waterways

How paint damages our waterways

Paints and thinners contain a number of harmful substances that severely affect our waterways.

The impacts include:

poisoning animals that drink water from the stream
restricting light entering a stream
smothering organisms, and clogging the gills and eyes of fish
reducing oxygen levels in waterways, making fish and shellfish unsuitable for consumption, and killing plant and animal aquatic life.

Before you begin work:

Keep our waterways safe by:

never washing off paint where it will flow to a stormwater drain or natural watercourse
cleaning the site and removing all excess paint and paint chips
not putting paint waste into the stormwater system.

Water-based paint equipment can be washed:

You can filter out paint chips and re-use the paint – or take it to a hazardous waste facility.
You must not put thinners or solvents into the sewer system.

Store your paint and thinners in sealed containers and place them securely indoors.

You should know

We all need to protect and take care of our environment.

It is illegal to put paint into our waterways and the stormwater system.