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The metal container holds solvent.  I rest my brushes in it while painting.  There is a strainer, not shown, that fits inside.  I can swish brushes and get some of the paint off between uses.  The fine particles of pigment go through the holes and sink to the bottom.  By the next day, most of the solvent is clear and there's a layer of sludge resting on the bottom.  The cup on the right will hold yesterday's sludge.

I'll pour the clear solvent into the red cup, watching for the sludge to start moving off the bottom of the solvent can.  If I'm careful, none of it will get into the clear solvent.

Looks as though I used a lot of blue paint yesterday.

The sludge is poured into the wine cup and what's left coating the can is scraped out with an old brush, then any remaining sludge is wiped out with a paper towel.

Clear solvent is poured back into the can.

The strainer is returned to the can and I'm ready to go.

Here's a progression of my sludge cups.  The one on the left is what I'm currently using.  Middle is the last one I filled. The third one on the right has been drying out for over a year and starting to separate from the cup.

I have about a dozen of these little oddities.  A weird thing to save, but to me, the strata represents years of paintings, and predominant colors I used.  Maybe when I'm long gone, these will be rare collector items!