Outdoor drains flow directly into our streams, estuaries and out to sea. The Two Pot Method is a simple way to clean your painting equipment without harming our waterways.
Whether you’re a DIY painter or working professionally, keep paint, wash water and chemicals out of outdoor drains. Choose your paint type below.
Use a large bucket of water to clean brushes, rollers and other equipment well — away from waterways, drains and grates.
Transfer the washed equipment to a second bucket full of water for a final rinse.
Place lids on both containers and allow them to stand overnight.
In the morning, slowly pour the clear water from the first container onto a surface well away from waterways, drains and grates.
Stop just before you reach the paint solids. Let the solids dry, then dispose of them in your general rubbish.
The second container (containing the rinse water) now becomes the first container next time.
When paint wash-off goes into an outdoor drain, it flows directly into local streams, estuaries and eventually the sea.
Paint pollution is something we can prevent at the source — by changing how equipment is cleaned and how leftover paint is handled.
Paint causes severe ecological damage by introducing toxic chemicals, depleting oxygen levels, and physically smothering aquatic life.
Paint solids coat the natural stream bed, smothering aquatic plants, insect habitats and eggs — clogging the gills and eyes of fish.
Chemicals and contaminants reduce water quality and affect ecosystems from streams to estuaries and coastlines.
of New Zealand’s indigenous freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction or at risk of becoming threatened.
Source: Our Freshwater 2026, Ministry for the Environment, April 2026If you see paint, or other pollution entering a drain or local stream, report it immediately.
Take photos or video of the pollution and note the exact location.
Call the Auckland Council Pollution Hotline right away.
If it is safe to do so, follow the pollution upstream to help identify the source.
Auckland Council Pollution Hotline
09 377 3107Outside drains lead directly to streams and the sea. Never wash paint or chemicals into an outdoor drain.
Discharging contaminants into waterways, or onto land where they may enter waterways, can breach the Resource Management Act 1991 and may result in enforcement action.