Good Question: Nail Polish Disposal?

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Lisbet just sent us this question about nail polish:
I actually have an eco question. I don't have much nail polish, and I don't use it very often so it tends to get a bit funky. The bottles I do have were purchased at natural foods stores (brands are No Miss and Zoya), so supposedly they're not as toxic as most polishes. Do I still need to haul them to a toxic waste disposal site or can they somehow be recycled at home? (A friend told me to leave the cap of, let the polish harden into a chunk, and then just recycle the glass bottle with my other glass.) Incidentally, these are really funky colors so not likely to be useful for creative household tasks.

This one has us stumped ... We're not big nail polish users. We'd always err on the side of being overly-cautious when getting rid of potentially bad stuff. But we aren't familiar with these brands. Readers?

image via Jen Chan; Flickr.com

Comments (6)

Can you pass them along to someone who'll use them? A teenage or tweenage kiddo would probably love to have some funky colors to play with.

posted by Jezebella on October 21st 2008 at 6:47am
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Save it for your next local "hazardous waste collection" day. They'll take it.

posted by jyw on October 21st 2008 at 2:49pm
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Wow, I had no idea nail polish was a toxic item...I always just chuck mine in the regular garbage.

Although I mostly just get manicures now, and rarely buy new polish just for that reason. By the time I could finish a bottle, it is all glumpy.

posted by Marie on October 22nd 2008 at 6:10am
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Does that go for nail polish remover as well?

posted by Knerq on October 22nd 2008 at 7:32am
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I have a ton of nail polishes that I don't use and you can see most of the color has changed in the bottles and there looks to be water but I doubt its water just some separation in the chemicals.

doesn't nail polish "expire" after some time?

posted by witchbaby on October 22nd 2008 at 9:08am
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Old nail polish can be made usable again by adding a few drops of polish thinner (NOT polish remover). It never really expires, just thickens and separates with age, but the usable life of most polishes (especially high-quality polishes like Zoya) can be ten years or more! You can always find a new home for your unused polishes on sites like MakeupAlley, which has a lively and passionate nail polish community.

posted by intheredwoods on October 22nd 2008 at 3:51pm
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