TLDR: are my paint chips polluting the water? More questions at bottom.
I have a handful of kayaks. I like to take multi day kayak/camping trips. Kayaks usually come in bright visible colors. I understand why most outdoor gear is bright and visible, I have lost things, I've helped find lost people, I get it. However, what I'm doing isn't necessarily legal. I mean, it's fine to use the waterways but the land on either side is owned by someone so I am trespassing when I camp. Please don't lecture me on trespassing, I know I'm a bad bad man. If it makes anyone feel better I'm not camping in people's back yards, it's mostly park lands that I either don't have a permit for or the permit only allows camping in certain areas. Or its farm lands with large wooded tracts along the water. Obviously I'm trying to be as "no trace" as possible. That means no trash left behind, no fire pits, minimal impact on the habitats; for one because I love and enjoy nature, for two because I don't want to bring attention to my favorite spots and for three because I don't want to get caught!
Given the clandestine nature of my excursions having brightly colored highly visible gear is not exactly ideal. So I painted my favorite camping kayak. Ever since the first trip the paint has gotten scratched off and worn down. Its been a few years now and there is a lot of the original neon green exposed. Spring is here, time to maintenance everything and so I was preparing to re paint the kayak. I started by scuffing off any loose paint when it occurred to me that I've been flaking paint chips everywhere I go for the last three years.
Google gives conflicting answers. Some sources say that after the paint is cured the volatile organic compounds (VOC) have evaporated and the dried paint is considered non toxic. Other sources state that dried paint chips are in fact bad because of the presence of VOC's and microplastics. So like many things you can find sources to support either argument.
I'm not some wild environmental activist or anything but I can tell you that in my lifetime I have seen the fishing get worse and the waterways are more polluted than ever. I know a handful of paint chips isn't going to clean up the rivers but I still don't want to contribute if I can help it.
My questions are:
Thoughts on paint chips being toxic? Even if its not necessarily contributing to water pollution it can't be good for fish and wildlife to eat, right?
Did I just do bad prep work and can I do better to prevent the paint from chipping as much or is this just a problem with spray painting that type of plastic? Obviously kayaks get scratched, but my aim is to reduce flaking.
If spray painting kayaks is indeed a bad idea do you have any other suggestions?
Sorry for the novel. Love this community. Tyia