Last Friday saw the launch of a new partnership which will help extend Community RePaint Cambridgeshire to southern parts of the county.
Community RePaint Cambridgeshire, based in March and run by CCORRN (the Cambridgeshire Community Reuse and Recycling Network) already collects paint from special paint-banks provided by Waterbeach-based waste management company AmeyCespa at six of Cambridgeshire County Council’s recycling centres.
But until now, some residents in southern areas of the county found it difficult to access paint from the facility in March. To find a solution, CCORRN has brought together a range of organisations to form the Cambridgeshire Community RePaint Partnership.
The launch was held in Cambridge city centre with the help of Don the Dulux dog, Mayor of Cambridge Councillor Ian Nimmo-Smith and Anne Ridgeon, Chairman of Ridgeons Ltd. (which has supplied the scheme with equipment and storage) and attracted the attention of both the BBC and ITV who covered the story on their respective regional news broadcasts!
Cambridge City Council has provided in-kind and financial support for the Cambridge Community RePaint Partnership since its inception and the Mayor of Cambridge, councillor Ian Nimmo-Smith, said: “I am very pleased to be supporting the Community RePaint scheme not only in their efforts to make use of paint which would otherwise go to waste, but also in getting this good quality paint to those who need it in our community.”
The CHS Group and Granta Housing Society will provide the scheme with promotional and financial support and help their tenants access the paint from the distributors. Housing officers and social workers from South Cambridgeshire, Cambridge City and Cambridgeshire Councils will also help council tenants to access the paint, whilst Cambridge Re-Use will sell the paint from its warehouse, to people on low incomes or who are in receipts of housing or council tax benefit.
In addition, Cambridge Wood Works will be open to the wider public and will deliver paint by prior agreement to Cambridge and South Cambridgeshre residents who are unable to get to its warehouse.
Will Rogowski, spokesman for CCORRN, said: “This is possibly the most sustainable and environmentally focused scheme I have come across which directly benefits people and communities. It’s not just paint – it’s a way of enriching people’s home and community environments at affordable prices. Now the Cambridge Community RePaint Partnership is making it accessible to people in the city and south of the region.”
