Everyone likes arts and crafts, from child-friendly glues and paint to peak-preforming hobbyist adhesives and glazes. But many of these products, especially old ones, can contain hazardous chemicals that need to be handled during use, storage, and disposal. Using, storing, and disposing of arts and crafts materials and reading the labels to take appropriate precautions is vital to keeping this hobby fun—especially when dealing with old arts and crafts supplies in need of disposal.
Hazards
- Certain arts and crafts supplies may contain toxic materials; inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact may present a health risk.
- Certain solvent-based products may be flammable.
- Certain products contain heavy metals that pose health risks and cause hazardous emissions from waste-to-energy facilities.
Handling
Read the labels:
- Know the contents of the materials you use; ask your supplier for a Material Safety Data Sheet or hotline for the product.
- Look for warning labels on the product. Art materials should be non-toxic if the manufacturer has appropriately labeled the product AP (approved product), CP (certified product), or HL (health label). Learn more about reading the warning labels on hazardous household products.
- Learn more about common hazardous materials in our blog, Can Old Arts and Crafts Supplies Be Hazardous Waste?
Use precautions during use:
- Use with caution, wear goggles and/or rubber gloves if needed.
- Provide fresh air to your work area and wear an appropriate mask, if needed.
- Avoid procedures that create dust. Use wet sanding or vacuum equipment to minimize dust levels.
- Clean up wet spills with absorbent (kitty litter, vermiculite, or rags). Keep cleanup materials in closed metal containers and away from heat sources to prevent spontaneous combustion.
- Reduce hazards during the mixing of clay, sanding, and glazing by using exhaust ventilation, such as a spray booth.
- Use brushing or dipping methods when possible rather than spraying or airbrushing.
- Use up products such as glues, adhesives, and solvents according to directions.
Management Options
- If you have no further use for the product and it is in usable condition, try to give it away to someone who has a use for it.
- Do not dispose of toxic art and craft supplies down the drain.
Empty non-aerosol containers and hardened or solid non-toxic products:
- You may dispose of these in the trash.
Liquid non-toxic products:
- Dispose of at a Household Hazardous Products Collection Center.
- Evaporate or absorb liquid with cat litter or other absorbents and dispose of them in the trash.
Toxic products:
- Dispose of at a Household Hazardous Products Collection Center.
- Leftover paints containing toxic metals, such as cadmium and chromium, should not go in the trash. Repack the primary container in a tight container if there is a danger of the primary container leaking.
- Dried-up toxic paints and adhesives can be put in the trash.
Adhesives:
- Glues, epoxy, and other strong adhesives should not be thrown in the trash. Either dry these products out, if possible or dispose of them at a Household Hazardous Products Collection Center. Learn more about heavy-duty sealants and adhesives by visiting that fact sheet: Sealants & Adhesives Fact Sheet.
This information was brought to you by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and NEDT. For more information, including links to their guides, visit our Fact Sheets & Links page, and make sure to check out our NEDT Blog and Household Hazardous Products Resources for more in-depth information.
