A report carried out by Earth Action published in 2021 just showed the extent as to which plastic paint waste is becoming a problem for the environment. The report concluded that plastic paint has become the largest source of microplastic leakage into the waterways and oceans.
If you have ever stripped plastic paint off a surface, you will know that the flakes of paint produced from this process, if not swept up, do not degrade, and if left lying on the ground they will last for months and probably years without degrading . It is really important therefore that when stripping away plastic paint to clean up afterwards and bag it up so that the flakes are contained as much as possible and do not enter waterways and the rest of the environment.
With the amount of plastic paint that has been used in the late 20th century and in the 21st century, this is only going to become an increasing problem. We can learn from our past and changing to alternative plant-based paint can help solve the issue. Not only because it overcomes the environmental problems but linseed paint also gives wood a much longer life span because it does not trap moisture and therefore keep it dry and free from rot.
There is a difference in the formulation of Brouns & Co linseed paint compared to the historic linseed paint in the fact that the historic paint contained lead. However, the modern formulation has zinc oxide as the mould inhibitor. (More on this in one of my earlier blog posts https://linseedpaint.com/blog/how-zinc-white-helps-avoid-mould-or-mildew-when-using-linseed-paint/ The right combination of zinc white and titanium dioxide has great efficacy and produces a paint that is safe for the environment, great to work with, and enhances the protection of wood.
We would recommend reading the report. It really does make for an interesting read and you will find it here https://www.e-a.earth/plastic-paints-the-environme...
