Plenty Magazine: Safe Disposal of Household Toxins

Filed under: Earth911 - May 30, 2008

Household hazardous waste: It sounds dramatic, but just take a peek in the storage closet, basement, garage or under the sink. That little old can of paint, paint thinner or finish, that bottle of insectide, weed killer or oven cleaner, may contain toxins such as benzene, xylene, nervous-system damaging organophosphates, and lye.

While you’re in a cleaning and de-toxing frenzy, pick up any old batteries and CFLs (which contain toxic mercury), wood and metal polishes, glues, motor oil, you get the picture. For a full Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) list of household products commonly containing hazardous ingredients, click here. Even the empty cans, EPA points out, can be dangerous due to residual explosive or vaporizing contents. Mothballs qualify as Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) because they offgass either 1,4 dichlorobenzene, which attacks the nervous system and can cause dizziness, headaches and rashes, or naphthalene, which can produce nausea, jaundice and liver and kidney damage. When storing clothes or removing them from mothballs, do it in a well-ventilated place and take care not to inhale, warns the environmental toxicology site of the University of California, Davis.

How is one to safely dispose of HHW? Pray, not in the regular trash, as it can leach corrosive, toxic chemicals into landfills and ultimately our groundwater, or down the drain, where it can harm aquatic life and wash down to our beaches along with other stormwater. It just doesn’t feel like summer when you’re swimming in antifreeze.

For how to responsibly get rid of HHW, call your municipal environmental, health or solid waste agency, or go to Earth911. There, if you type in the product and your zip code, you can find the nearest drop-off/recycling place for HHW, along with upcoming “events,” or days when HHW, old electronics and other materials are accepted. Some businesses such as Home Depot and IKEA have recycle bins for CFLs.

As greener, safer substitutes for mothballs, UC Davis recommends rosemary, cedar chips or oil, lavender (remember Grandma’s sachets?), mint and white peppercorns. To find other greener, least-toxic DIY alternatives to cleaning products and pesticides, click here. Your home will smell better, too.

Portsmouth Herald News: Proper Recycling of Electronics Vitally Important

Filed under: Earth911 - May 25, 2008

By Jerry Romansky

Dear Jerry:

Our garage has a batch of electronics we would like to get recycled. We have computers, cell phones and an assortment of gadgets. We are particularly concerned with our television sets. When television switches to “digital” in early 2009, our old TVs will not even work.

Friends and family throughout the United States are experiencing the same problem. No one gets a straight answer about how to recycle these items responsibly.

Unless we find a convenient recycling source, I am thinking of placing these TVs and other electronics in the regular trash. How important is it to recycle them?

— Mary. C., Ashland, Va

Dear Mary:

Vitally important. Here is a one-stop, user-friendly recycling hotline. From Earth 911, you can obtain nearby recycling locations at (800) 253-2687 or online at www.earth911.org.

First, remind yourself there is an old-fashioned method of recycling. Relocate the item by selling it, giving it to a friend or donating it to an organization. A product that is old and obsolete for you may be new and useful to someone else. In the case of televisions, of course, that option will not apply much longer. Since non-digital TVs will soon be unusable, you need to dispose of them another way.

It is essential that TVs, computers, cell phones, electronic gadgets and other such products be properly discarded. Otherwise, their hazardous ingredients and other factors make them dangerous. Instead of causing risks and undermining the environment, take advantage of the recycling resources in your area.

For “Seacoast Sunday” readers, one option is the UniWaste Services Corporation, a privately operated recycler that serves the New England States (including, of course, New Hampshire and Maine). It is located at 125 Aviation Ave., in Portsmouth. The telephone number is (866) 522-7711.

York, Maine offers its residents the York Recycling Committee Curbside Program. For information, call the York Town Hall at (207) 363-1000.

For instant access to the complete list (name, address and telephone number of the sites in your area), check with Earth 911.

Steuben Courier: Beware of Puppy Mills

Filed under: Uncategorized - May 25, 2008

To the Editor,

I would like to warn readers about the dangers of purchasing their next dog.

Puppy mills are breeding facilities that produce purebred puppies in large numbers. They are inhumane, designed to maximize profits, and commonly disregard the physical, social, and emotional health of the dogs in their facilities.

Puppy mills lurk behind the behind websites, ads in the local newspaper, even behind the doors of a nearby pet store. The best way to stop puppy mills from continuing their abuse is for consumers to stop buying the puppies they breed. Many people think they are “rescuing” a puppy by buying one-don’t be fooled, you’re just creating space for another puppy to be sold. Never buy a dog unless you can see for yourself where he or she was born, how the parents are kept, and what condition all the dogs are in.

Check out these websites: www.stoppuppymills.com, and The Humane Society of the Unites States’ www.hsus.org.

The best place to get your next pet is the local animal shelter. These shelter animals have already been spayed or neutered, and have received all their vaccinations and veterinary checkups. Purebred rescue groups are another excellent resource for finding a dog. Links are available at www.petfinder.org and www.pets911.com.

People who love dogs need to help stop them from being mistreated by making sure they aren’t supporting puppy mills.

Mary Jamison
Campbell

Myrtle Beach Sun News: Swim Advisories Lifted

Filed under: Earth911 - May 24, 2008

By Tonya Root

State environmental officials lifted all advisories against any swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, after elevated bacteria levels were found earlier this week.

The advisories usually only last a day or two, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. Officials test the waters periodically and report if elevated bacteria levels are found.

For a map of the testing site, go to http://www.earth911.org/waterquality/default.asp?cluster=9 and zoom into the Myrtle Beach area.

Plenty Magazine: The Greenest Cell Phones

Filed under: Earth911 - May 21, 2008

By Mindy Pennybacker

Ah, cell phones. That graduate in your life, who’s already lost a half-dozen, will be expecting an upgrade. But first, make sure that latest old phone gets recycled. The real threat from mobiles is not the microwave radiation they emit, but the pollution they release when tossed, as happens to about 135 million cell phones a year. That adds up to 65,000 tons of toxic waste: lead, mercury, cadmium, brominated fire retardants and arsenic. Give your grad an incomplete until the deed is done; to find a place nearby that accepts phones for recycling, send him or her to earth911.org.

Do cell phones zap our brains? Probably not through radiation so much as inattention, which can contribute to traffic accidents or, according to a new study to be released this July, behavioral problems in children of moms who racked up the wireless hours while pregnant. Other studies have been inconclusive, some linking years of cell phone use to brain tumors, some not.

Before popping for an ur-gadget, have your grad do a little product research into the company that makes the coveted phone. Greenpeace has just come out with its new green ratings (bad and good grades) for cellphones. Good prep for the brave new working world. Maybe it’ll be a green collar job. Whatever, don’t worry. You’ve done your best, and they’ll call home.

TCPalm.com: Old Electronics in Your Home May be Worth Something

Filed under: Earth911 - May 20, 2008

By Daniel Vasquez

Here’s what recycling used to mean: Trade in old bottles, cans and papers for pennies.

Here’s what recycling means today: Trade in old iPods, cell phones, etc. for dollars.

I scrounged around our home and found unused electronics worth $250 or more. Sure beats searching the couch for coins.

Many of us stockpile old cell phones, TVs and computers that could be sold, recycled or donated. BrandsMart USA offers a $253 store credit in exchange for the three Motorola mobile phones, three Apple iPods and single Sony PlayStation 2 on my list. The South Florida retailer launched a recycling program last month called “Go Green,” joining a growing number of companies giving consumers cash and credit for electronic trade-ins.

Best Buy’s online recycling program offers a gift card worth up to $50 more than BrandsMart for my gadgets.

The prices are based on BrandsMart’s and Best Buy’s online appraisal tools. Both companies determine worth after receiving items via prepaid postage. Price is determined by condition and whether what you send includes accessories such as chargers and batteries. BrandsMart goes the extra mile and issues instant credit for in-store trades.

“About half our customers are using the in-store option,” said Bobby Johnson, a senior vice president with BrandsMart USA, based in Hollywood.

Neither retailer pays much, if anything, for outdated or broken items. And they don’t always accept the same merchandise or pay the same prices. To pocket the most profit, compare what each company offers for your stuff.

Check www.bestbuy.com, www.brandsmart.com and other Web sites for qualifying items and estimated prices.

By doing so, I found: ƒz My badly scratched but working Motorola V550 cell phone, purchased nearly four years ago, is worth about $9 at BrandsMart, but only $2.25 if broken. Best Buy doesn’t offer anything for the model. CellforCash.com pays $4 for the V550, working or not.

My barely touched PlayStation 2 is worth about $27 at BrandsMart, $2.70 if broken. At Best Buy it’s valued at $16, nothing if not working. And on eBay, it sells for $20 and $50 if working, 99 cents if broken.

And my 80 GB video iPod, still in good working condition, is valued at $97 at BrandsMart, $12 if broken. At Best Buy it’s worth $132, nothing if not working. And on eBay, it sells for $60 to $100 if working, 99 cents if broken.

Even if your electronics are too outdated or unrepairable, they’re probably worth something to recyclers. It’s easy to rid your home of junked TVs, DVD players and computers with the help of nonprofit organizations and major companies that for nominal fees or even free now take old electronics off your hands. These services keep e-waste out of landfills, where it wreaks havoc on the environment.

Two million tons of tech trash reached dump sites in 2006, but only about 380,000 tons of it was recycled, the Environmental Protection Agency reports. Collectively, this stuff is responsible for up to 70 percent of heavy metals in landfills, including mercury, cadmium and other toxins that seep into soil and groundwater, and 40 percent of all lead, according to the environmental advocacy group Earth 911.

BrandsMart, Best Buy, Staples, Radio Shack and South Florida-based Office Depot operate collection centers for cell phones and used electronics at most stores. Dell allows customers to donate, trade in or auction its equipment. Epson, Hewlett-Packard and IBM recycle their own PC products. And Gateway gives qualifying buyers a $50 rebate for turning in an old computer when purchasing a new one.

Contact individual stores or visit company Web sites for more details. Visit the Electronic Industries Alliance at www.eiae.org for a list of recycling agencies by state.

In anticipation of the federally mandated conversion to digital TV by 2009, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has also created a Web map that lets users find out where to recycle old televisions across the state. As many as one in four households are expected to discard at least one television, which means Florida could have 2 million televisions recycled in the next few years alone.

To use the State Department’s recycling map, visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/electronics/pages/televisions.htm.

Most communities run programs that accept old monitors, copiers, keyboards, etc.

In Broward County, residents can drop off items at collection centers in Pompano Beach, Sunrise and Hollywood. Call 954-577-4160. In Palm Beach County, residents can take advantage of similar sites in West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Royal Palm Beach, Delray Beach and Belle Glade. Call 866-792-4636.

If you’re in a giving mood, seek out charities such as the YMCA and Salvation Army, which refurbish and recycle cell phones. Visit www.Earth911.org or call 800-253-2687 for a list of organizations that collect computers and other electronics for good causes.

It’s not only easy to get rid of old electronics in environmentally safe and socially conscious ways, but in some cases you can even make a buck doing it.

Newsday: Going Green as a Small Business

Filed under: Earth911 - May 19, 2008

By Jamie Herzlich

Going green is a hot topic among businesses these days.

In fact, many companies, from Wal-Mart to Hewlett-Packard, have changed the way they do business in an effort to be more environmentally conscious.

But what can a small business with limited dollars do to help make a difference?

Plenty, say experts. It just takes commitment to the cause.

“There are so many things small companies can do that cost little or nothing that will not only save them money, but help improve employee morale,” says Susan Seliger, editor in chief of RiverWired.com, a Manhattan-based eco-media Web site. “You just have to want to do it.”

Here are a few tips to get you started:

First, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Set realistic goals and start small, experts say. This way you won’t feel like it’s such a drain on your resources.

Tap your employees for ideas on how the company can become more environmentally friendly, Seliger suggests.

“They may have brilliant ideas,” she notes. “Start with a few of the easiest suggestions first and take it from there.”

You’d be surprised how many simple ways you can give back, Seliger says.

For example, when your office cleaning supplies run out, start replacing them with green “nontoxic organic” products, she suggests. Do the same with hand/liquid soaps in your office bathroom and kitchen, Seliger adds. You can find them in most supermarkets or online.

“Stay away from products that will damage the environment,” notes Gary Anzalone, chairman of the Long Island chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and a principal at Precision Signs in Amityville. This includes bleach and ammonia-based products, he says.

The architectural sign manufacturer uses green cleaning products and tries to incorporate other green practices. For instance, Precision uses low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint on its signs. It costs more than regular paint but requires fewer coats and is more environmentally friendly, he notes. The company also uses recycled copy paper and shreds and reuses old office papers for packing materials.

“We’ve had clients call us and thank us,” says Anzalone, noting that there are some incentive programs to help companies go green.

For instance, the Long Island Power Authority’s commercial construction program offers cash incentives to customers who install energy-efficient technologies in their new construction, renovation or equipment replacement projects, according to LIPA president Kevin S. Law. These include lighting, lighting controls, motors, air-conditioning equipment or other energy-saving technologies. These rebates can range as high as $100,000 per project, he notes. LIPA offers audits to assess what rebates businesses may be eligible for. Check out lipower.org/commercial/small for more information.

Looking for more ideas?

Consider offsetting your electricity usage by purchasing Renewable Energy Credits, suggests Jason Trout, founder of Decorah, Iowa-based GreenBusiness.net, an online forum for eco-entrepreneurs and professionals. This can make a difference, considering that most electricity consumed in the United States comes from burning coal and gas, according to Renewable Choice Energy in Boulder, Colo., which sells RECs. By purchasing RECs, you are replacing a specific amount of the electricity you consume with clean, carbon-free electricity produced by alternative energy sources such as wind power.

You can offset all or a portion of your electricity use, and you would pay for these credits on top of your regular utility bill, he adds.

Hauppauge-based Country Life Vitamins, which works with Renewable Choice, offsets 100 percent of its power use this way, says Jason Mitchell, vice president of research and new product development. He didn’t specify annual costs, but a spokesman for Renewable Choice says a business using 1,000 kilowatts a month could pay $200 or less per month on top of its regular utility bill to purchase these credits.

That’s a small price to pay for clean air.

HOW TO BE ECO- FRIENDLY

Replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent lightbulbs. CFLs consume up to 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer.

Replace appliances and office equipment with Energy Star-rated models, which use up to 40 percent less energy.

Recycle electronics. Check out Earth911.org to see where to recycle or donate. You may qualify for a tax credit.

KGO-TV: How to Recycle Your Bulbs

Filed under: Earth911 - May 18, 2008

By Jennifer Olney

Millions of Bay Area residents are doing their part to save energy by using compact fluorescent bulbs. But when those bulbs burn out, there’s a big question mark about what happens next. The State of California has made it illegal to throw fluorescent lights in the trash and pressure is on to find a convenient alternative.

Compact fluorescent bulbs are lighting the way to energy savings at homes all over the Bay Area.

PG&E thinks the bulbs are so beneficial, they gave away a million last year for free.

“They use less energy than an incandescent bulb. They last longer, and as a result, there is less electricity required,” says Rex Bell from PG&E.

But along with the benefits, fluorescents come with a challenge.

“They can’t be put in the trash, because they do contain mercury.” Leonard Robinson from the Department of Toxic Substances Control,

The State Department of Toxic Substances has banned fluorescent lights from landfills. That includes the big tubes, the little curly ones known as CFLs and lots of sizes and shapes in between. All of them contain small amounts of mercury.

“If it gets into the environment, it starts to break down because of bacteria in soil or water, turns into ethyl mercury, at which point that enters into the food chain,” says Michael Scahill of the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District.

So if you can’t throw them out, what do you do with them?

It’s not a secret. It’s just that there is no statewide plan for handling fluorescents when they burn out. You are supposed to recycle them. But you can’t throw them in a cart with the rest of your recycling because they might break and the mercury would escape.

That means local governments are left holding the bag, trying to figure out how to make it convenient for people to recycle fluorescents—and how to pay for it.

“There are no solutions except for what jurisdictions like ours have invented,” says Santa Clara County Hazardous Materials program manager Rob D’Arcy.

Residents can bring their used tubes and CFL’s to many Santa Clara County hardware stores and the stores will collect them. Then, county workers carefully pack them up, and take them away for recycling. The program is working—almost too well.

“With 32 now, it has, to put it mildly, overwhelmed my staff,” says D’Arcy.

Other communities are also trying to find solutions. In Central Contra Costa County, residents can drop their fluorescents at a household hazardous waste center. But, for many, it’s a long drive and it costs the county sanitary district a bundle—about 75 cents to recycle each CFL and 25 cents a foot for the tubes. So now, a growing number of government officials want manufacturers step up to help.

“Oh absolutely, they are the ones who profit from it. So that’s absolutely where the money should come from,” says D’Arcy.

A long meeting at the California Environmental Protection Agency was devoted to getting businesses to help recycle fluorescents. That’s been a tough sell up to now, but a representative from Sylvania seemed to open the door—at least a little.

“Teamwork and shared responsibility. We can not do this alone. We are willing to lead the discussion of how this can be done,” says Jennifer Dolin from the Sylvania Environmental Marketing.

In the end, it’s likely consumers will pay most of the cost of recycling. Sylvania suggests customers be charged a recycling fee when they buy the bulbs.

PG&E is proposing a small fee be added to utility bills.

“There will not be a noticeable increase in the bill amount and yet there will be benefit to the consumer and benefit to the environment,” says Bell.

Another proposal is a mail back program. You would buy special box and plastic bag, put in your bulbs and send it to a recycler. Whatever the eventual solution—the message right now is that fluorescent lights need to be recycled and you have to do your homework to figure out how.

Local governments estimate only about five to ten percent of fluorescent bulbs are being properly recycled. If you want to find out how to recycle in your community click on these links below.

Earth 911

BayWise

Cleaning Up Broken Fluorescent Lights: There is a lot of misinformation circulating about how to handle broken lights.

La Voz Weekly: Flourescent Lighting’s Dark Side

Filed under: Earth911 - May 12, 2008

By Matt Larvey

Several large retail companies and a number of environmental groups have been encouraging consumers to buy compact fluorescent lamps in place of incandescent, tungsten filament lamps, but there are hazards associated with the fluorescent bulbs that people should be aware of.

Compact fluorescent lamps are designed to fit into ordinary light sockets. They are advertised as an environmentally friendly alternative to incandescent lamps because they provide the same brightness and use a quarter of the energy. Their lifetime can also be 15 to 20 times that of regular incandescent bulbs.

Still these bulbs, like all fluorescent lamps, contain a small amount of mercury. When thousands of these bulbs are improperly disposed of with regular garbage and end up buried in landfills, the combined mercury from the bulbs creates a veritable toxic waste dump.

Thousands of pounds of mercury, a substance that is very toxic to human beings, end up in our landfills every year because of the improper disposal of fluorescent lamps. As the mercury accumulates underground, vapor escapes through the waste and vents into the air. Winds can carry the vapor and deposit traces of mercury into rivers and streams, potentially causing massive damage to the environment.

Furthermore, mercury often changes once in these landfills from its elemental form to a form known as organic methyl mercury, an even more dangerous and toxic form of mercury.

Despite all this, fluorescent bulbs are not currently the main contributor of mercury in landfills. Even if they were to be adopted by consumers as the primary choice for indoor lighting, they still wouldn’t add a significant amount of mercury pollution to our environment. In fact, they would likely reduce our dependence on coal power plants, which are by far the leading cause of mercury pollution.

Educating the public on hazardous waste recycling can reduce the amount of mercury that ends up in landfills, but overall florescent lamps are a positive change for consumers and people shouldn’t be cautioned against buying them.

To find a hazardous waste facility near you, go to www.earth911.org.

Elgin Courier-News: Hampshire Looks to Update Resident Contact Info

Filed under: Earth911 - May 10, 2008

By Jeanie Mayer

The village board is requesting an update from residents on their contact information for notification purposes in the event of an emergency.

Trustee George Brust requested at the village board meeting Thursday night that residents provide new contact information when they come in to pay their water bills.

“We are trying to update our emergency information so we can reach them at any time,” Brust said. “There are a number of residents whose numbers we do not have.”

In addition to providing the updated phone numbers, Village President Jeffrey Magnussen said, residents also can pick up as many as three CFL energy-saving light bulbs when they come in to pay their water bills. The Metro West Association gave 750 of the fluorescent bulbs to the village. The bulbs will be handed out on a first-come, first -served basis.

Brust said the bulbs contain mercury and must be dropped off at a special recycling center at the end of their lifespan rather than disposed of with the regular garbage. There also are special steps to be taken in the event the bulbs are broken. More information is available at www.earth911.org and www.comedcare.com.

Plenty Magazine: Computer E-cycles: Best Choices for Old & New

Filed under: Earth911 - May 8, 2008

When you find a dusty old hard drive under the bed, or that long-dead monitor in the closet, spring cleaning suddenly gets complicated. So does shopping for a new computer, which, these days, raises the question of what to do with the old one. Dumping is out of the question, as computers contain neurotoxic heavy metals such as mercury and lead, which can leach into groundwater from landfills, or expose unprotected workers and communities in unregulated recycling programs abroad. Even the casings can contain toxic fire retardants known as polybrominated biphenyls (PBDEs), which can migrate out of plastics and have been found in house dust.

What to do?

If your old computer or parts of it still work, consider networking it with your new equipment. If it doesn’t work, call a local repair shop (see your town’s Yellow Pages) and give it one last chance before getting rid of it.

Donate old computers and other office equipment to schools, your local Y, and non-profit organizations that collect and repair old electronics to resell them. Find programs in Earth 911’s handy listing by clicking here.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has lists of resources for recycling computers, including companies with takeback programs.

When shopping for new equipment, ask whether the manufacturer has a program to take back and responsibly recycle/reuse components into new computers. Ask for products that do not use PBDEs, and have substantially reduced lead, mercury and cadmium. For more info, click here.

To reduce household expenses and your carbon footprint, look for the EPA’s Energy Star label on computers. A qualified desktop will save you $30-50 in electricity costs over its lifetime. Every little bit and byte adds up!

Common Ground: Don’t Just Get Mad, Get Active

Filed under: Earth911 - May 1, 2008

By Summer Bowen

By the time May rolls around, the countdown to beach season has begun. Wax this, tan that and try on last year’s swimsuit under the soft glow of your new dimmable CFL bulbs. Sure, you look fabulous, but what about the beaches? Over-fishing, rising temperatures, and skin rash-causing bacteria? Eek! The real question this May is: How to do we get our ocean beach-ready?

North American Press Syndicate: What To Do With Leftover Paint

Filed under: Earth911 - May 1, 2008

The best way to give leftover paint headaches the brush-off is to measure the area to be painted before you start. Surprisingly, a consumer study showed that nearly half of all respondents reported they do not measure before purchasing paint.

Here’s a Five-Point Program for leftover paint from the National Paint & Coatings Association that saves you money, keeps your home and garage from being cluttered and helps the environment by keeping usable paint out of the waste stream.

1. Buy the Correct Amount of Paint for the Project—By checking with your local paint dealer on how to determine the correct volume of paint required for your project, you can eliminate the need to store or dispose or recycle paint when the project is finished.

2. Store Paint Properly to Keep it Fresh—If your project is complete and you still have a fair amount of paint left over, cover the opening of the paint can with plastic wrap and securely seal the lid. When you are sure the lid is leakproof, turn the can upside down and store it in a place with a moderate room temperature to avoid freezing. Be sure to choose a safe location that is out of the reach of children and pets.

3. Use Up Leftover Paint—Now that you have safely stored your leftover paint, don’t forget about it. Leftover paint can be used for touch-ups or smaller projects and lighter colors can be taken back to a paint retailer and be retinted for another paint project.

4. Reuse or Recycle—For a community association, theater company, church group or other local organizations that may be in need of good paint, check the “Earth 911” Paint Wise Web portal at earth911.org/recycling/paint-recycling or call 1-800-CLEAN-UP to learn about paint reuse, recycling and HHW (Household Hazardous Waste) collection programs that are available in your community.

5. Dispose of Paint Properly—If there is not a leftover paint collection program available in your area, you may need to dispose of leftover latex paint yourself. Air-drying of liquid alkyd or oil-based paint is not considered safe. In regions that allow it, let your latex paint air-dry in a safe location away from children and pets.

According to the National Paint & Coatings Association’s Five-Point Program for Leftover Paint, solvent-based paint should be managed only by a hazardous waste program.

For more tips on what to do with leftover paint, visit http://www.paint.org/issues/postconsumer.cfm.

If your project is complete and you still have leftover paint, the best way to store it and keep it fresh is to cover the can opening with plastic wrap and seal the lid.