We’re delighted to be celebrating 30 years of Community RePaint and our work to ensure that surplus usable paint doesn’t have to go to waste but can be reused instead.
Back in 1992, we were first made aware of the extent of the problem of paint waste in the UK. Following a pilot project in Leeds called The Waste Wagon, that was run by the Special Collections Research Group set up by Leeds City Council, to address issues with household hazardous waste.
The Waste Wagon project found that we tend to store large volumes of leftover, reusable paint in our sheds, garages and cupboards. As part of the project, this leftover paint was collected from householders, along with other DIY materials and hazardous items. At the end of the project, the paint was given to local charities and groups, which highlighted the demand for affordable paint amongst these organisations, as well as a need for individuals and families on low income.
It was then, in 1993, that Community RePaint was born.
Community RePaint is managed by Resource Futures a B-Corp certified environmental consultancy working with the private, public and non-profit sectors to enable positive management of Resources.
Over the last thirty years, we have grown to have 75 schemes all over the UK saving paint from going to waste and redistributing it to their communities.Through out network 5.4 million litres of paint has been reused. We’re excited to see this grow and grow as we encourage people to reuse paint for their projects and donate their surplus paint to others in their community.
This year alone, 261,521 litres of paint have been collected with 213,977 litres reused, helping 1,578 organisations and 25,810 individuals add colour to their lives.
Since our inception, our work has been sponsored by Dulux. Peter Howard, their Sustainability and CSR Lead at AkzoNobel, commented: “With over 55 million litres of paint wasted each year, it’s clear we have to help more consumers to re-use and recycle their leftover paint wherever possible. We have been working with Community RePaint since its inception to put as much leftover paint as possible to its best use colouring lives and communities. Over the past 30 years we have worked to grow the network to 75 different schemes, helping to re-use over 5.4 million litres of paint.”
““It’s inspiring to see the amazing milestones the network has achieved, and we remain committed to supporting this hugely important initiative, whilst also working more widely with industry to increase the re-use and re-manufacture rate of decorative paint.”
This major milestone is a great opportunity to reflect on the amazing successes of our project. From finding a solution for leftover paint for councils, waste contractors, manufacturers and homes, as well as providing the solution for affordable paint for communities, charities, schools families and individuals. We’re working hard to ensure that we end paint waste across the industry and brighten communities instead.