One of the questions we get asked a lot is:
“How will you dispose of the water you use to wash your brushes and rollers”
A. J. Cochrane & Sons were one of the first painters in Perth to use Envirowash bins and have actively embraced the Dulux EnviroWash System providing five (5) Envirowash units that are utilised on sites by our staff.
We love this system because it gives us an environmentally responsible way of washing painting tools such as brushes and rollers. The revolutionary wash system converts waterborne paint washings into clear water and solid waste, allowing for easier and safer disposal.
The transportable units provide us with the ideal facility for washing out paint equipment and tins. The system has become an indispensable part of our clean-up process.
How the Envirowash system works
The units are made up of two parts – the sink and a separate filtration tank. The units work by separating paint washings into clear water and solid paint. The spray gun is used to wash rollers, brushes, paint trays, pots and anything else that has been used in the painting process.
Once the unit is full, treatment chemicals are used to separate the solid matter and water from the paint washings. After 1-6 hours, clear water remains in the top of the tank and paint sludge is left at the bottom.
Clear water can be recycled into other trade related applications, or released onto flat grassy areas and gardens.
Remaining paint sludge is filtered, ready for removal and drying. Once residue is dry, it is ready to be disposed of as non-hazardous solid waste.
Treatment times vary depending on the capacity size of the unit and concentration of paint washings. Typically, 450 liters of paint water discharge produces 5kg of solid paint residue.
A. J. Cochrane owns five (5) of these units and actively promotes their use. One (1) 120 litre unit is permanently used at our Boulder Rd Warehouse.
For projects where an Envirowash unit is not available
In these circumstances brushes are wrapped in plastic. Rollers are removed from their frame and stored in a Covermate. Both brushes and rollers are then returned to our Boulder Rd site and cleaned in the onsite Envirowash unit. The resultant waste is then disposed of as non-hazardous waste.
We also have an EnviroSolutions Brush Cleaner which is an operational cleaning unit that works only with EnviroSolutions Brush Wash. It assists in the bulk cleaning of paint brushes with little mess or effort. The Brush Cleaner unit is capable of rinsing up to eight brushes simultaneously using half the volume of water required by traditional methods.
Got any other questions for our team? Leave your question in the comments of this post and we will do our best to address it in future blog posts!