As well as highlighting the valuable work of volunteers in delivering socially and environmentally beneficial projects, the article is a real boost to raising awareness of Community RePaint.
No doubt this will help to generate more donations but, as importantly, we hope it will also encourage people who need paint to get in touch with their local schemes.
For the full story visit here: www.telegraph.co.uk/property/greenproperty/8442781/Green-property-volunteer-recycling-shops.html
You can click here to see him in action
As you watch the most recent commercial you are probably wondering how he’s kept his youthful looks and boundless energy over the years…
However, when the staff and pupils at Baden Powell Primary school in Tremorfa, Cardiff return to school this week they will find this does not have to be the case. Thanks to a team of volunteers and the local Community RePaint scheme, their dull playground and pre-fab nursery building have been transformed with a colourful, space-themed mural.
“Often, once a group has decided on the design for their mural, they find that they need to buy a whole range of colours, the cost of which soon adds up, even if they will only be using a small amount of each colour. This is where Community RePaint can really help as our schemes collect reusable, leftover paint, which means we can supply a whole range of colours to good causes for a minimal cost,” said Clair Lloyd, Community RePaint Programme Coordinator.
So, if you know of a playground that needs painting, a classroom that needs colour or have paint to donate visit www.communityrepaint.org.uk to find your nearest scheme. Download the Cardiff case study on the link attached.
With the support of Sanctuary Housing the Creative Community Kingsmead Murals project has brought together locals of all ages to transform four walkways on the Kingsmead estate. The eight murals have been designed and created by the residents themselves, using paint from both Community RePaint Hackney and East London at a series of painting days.
With each mural linked to the Olympic values – respect, excellence, friendship, courage, determination, inspiration and equality – the project aims to have a lasting impact on local community.
To celebrate the official opening of the murals, the ‘artists’ came together for an afternoon of games and music, run by project sponsor Sanctuary Housing in partnership with environmental education charity ecoACTIVE – which delivered the workshops.
The opening gave residents the chance to tour the murals and see the fruits of their labour, against the backdrop of the Kingsmead Primary School drumming band.
Local resident, Saada Omar, said: “This project has been a great idea and has involved everyone right from the start. The kids loved the painting days and are now very proud of the finished murals – every time we go past, they shout to anyone who can hear that they painted them.”
Designs for each of the murals were developed during a series of creative workshops, which took place throughout July. Led by local artist, Ryan Durrant, and writer Penny Cliff, residents came together with Kingsmead school children and members of the Adventure Playground, to brainstorm design ideas.
London artist Ryan brought the ideas to life with the final designs, before working with residents on the all-important painting days. Co-ordinated by Hackney-based ecoACTIVE, the murals were then created using recycled paints which were mixed and blended to create the final colours.
Sanctuary’s regional director, Stephanie Killer, said: “These murals are a triumph of a community initiative, which has brought residents of all ages together.
“The key to the project was to ensure residents could take ownership of the murals’ creation. Not only does the new artwork enhance the local environment, but it will leave a lasting legacy on the estate.“
The project was sponsored by Sanctuary Housing, with additional funding from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Unit at Hackney Council.
The Creative Community Kingsmead Murals project has been supported by local partners Kingsmead Primary School, Hackney Marsh Adventure Playground, Forever Young Over 50s group and Good Companions Over 50s group. Workshop materials were provided by Community RePaint schemes for Hackney and East London and also Topcoat Construction in Leyton. Refreshments on the day were kindly provided by Tesco in Morning Lane.
The project builds on the work already carried out in Hackney through the Big Blue Fence project, also sponsored by Sanctuary.
Published 2 Nov 11 on www.24dash.com.
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.”
The vouchers, issued by Worcester Community Housing, allow their new customers to take paint from Community RePaint Worcester for just £1 a litre and with first ten litres free so that customers are able to transform their house or flat soon after moving in.
Like Mr Lee who, when he moved in, was welcomed by dark walls and a bright pink bedroom! The voucher meant that within just five months he has been able to create a home of which he is justly proud. Moreover, being able to afford to paint the rooms has also meant that, for “…the first time in my life I have been able to put my mark on something,” said Mr Lee.
“Being able to redecorate has helped turn the flat into a home and give Mr Lee a sense of belonging, at a time when other help had been difficult to find,” said Worcester Community Housing’s, Customer Experience Manager, Gemma Mundy.
Community RePaint Worcester from which Mr Lee collected the paint, is run by WRE and is one of 67 schemes which make up the national paint reuse network, Community RePaint. Each scheme collects leftover reusable paint from local householders and businesses and redistributing it to local charities, community groups and individuals and families in need, such as Mr Lee.
“Working with Community RePaint Worcester has meant that we can offer our customers a better service and help them to settle in more quickly. The voucher scheme enables our customers to make their money go further when decorating and personalising their homes,” said Di Smith, Head of Customer Services and Involvement at Worcester Community Housing.
Click here to read more about Mr Lee’s Story.
Recycling minister Lord Taylor, who hosted the forum, declared that more jobs and training opportunities are needed to help the industry grow.
Lord Taylor declared that more jobs and training opportunities were needed in the reuse sector. “We want to see even more jobs and training opportunities become available in the re-use and repair sector – which is why we are bringing together people with an interest in sorting out barriers between people who have items for reuse, and those who want them,” he said.
Several barriers to reuse were noted by the Defra whilst the English Waste Review 2011 was being drawn up. Access to repair and reuse services was noted as a key issue in encouraging people to reuse items however some charities’ lack of storage space and confusion over how safety regulations may restrict the use of certain items also contributed.
“People want to do the right thing and not see items that are still useful go to waste. There are many groups such as local authorities and charities who are already putting these items to good use,” Lord Taylor said.
Companies that attended the forum ranged from reuse charities, retailers, local authorities and trade associations.
The organisations that attended the forum were: Any Junk, Bag2school/Bag2thefuture, Bellenden/Bond Group, British Heart Foundation, Charity Retail Association, CIWM, Community RePaint, CREATE UK, Currys, Dorset Waste Partnership, Eastex, Environcom, Environment Agency, Environmental Services Agency, ERP UK Ltd, Fareshare, Freegle, Friends of the Earth, Furniture Matters, Furniture Reuse Network (FRN), Gary Griffiths, IKEA, LARAC, London Community Reuse Network (LCRN), London Reuse Ltd, Marks & Spencers, National Community Wood Recycling Project, PREEN, Realliance, Recycling Lives, Resourcefutures, Rural Kent, Salvation Army, Salvo Reuse, Terry Maguire, Textile Recycling Association (TRA), The European Recycling Company Ltd, The European Recycling Company Ltd, The Social Marketing Practice, Veolia, Waste Watch, WRAP along with various local authorities.
In 2011, householders, traders and paint manufacturers donated 343,957 litres of paint to Community RePaint schemes, which then distributed 217,112 litres to community groups and individuals saving 565 tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of taking 192 cars off our roads – and providing 766 volunteer and training opportunities.
Members of the Prince’s Trust Team Programme brightening lives in the local community.
Working together with Heart Research UK, Community RePaint schemes helped to create three ‘healthy heart floors’ in NCP car parks, with brightly painted murals encouraging drivers parking on the sixth floor to take the stairs. The designs, which feature the charity’s mascot, Hartley Heart, were painted with the help of local young people and Community RePaint provided the paint – of course! John Lloyd, Midlands Regional Executive of Heart Research UK, contacted Community RePaint and led the initiative. “We were delighted with the generous support we received from Community RePaint for our healthy heart floors, which help to highlight the importance of keeping your heart healthy in a fun, easy and educational way, as well as brightening up car parks.”
Community RePaint also brought a splash of colour to the lives of the tenants of Mulberry House in Blackpool. Mulberry House provides a safe and supportive environment for people overcoming alcohol and drug addiction, and was completely redecorated with paint from Community RePaint Wyre and Fylde. The result was a clean and comfortable home for the three tenants, one of whom had been a painter and decorator prior to his problems with addiction. Founder and Manager of Mulberry House, Keith Stevenson, said: “Not only has the work given a freshness to the whole house and changed it from simply a place to stay to somewhere that feels like home, but it has also enabled one of our tenants to re-discover his skills and self-worth.”
The Community RePaint Network has been sponsored by Dulux since 1993 and complements their current campaign, Let’s Colour. David Cornish, Strategic Projects Manager, explained “Bringing colour to people’s lives is what Dulux is all about. If we can do so by helping people to use paint that would otherwise be wasted, then that’s an extra bonus and we are very proud to support Community Repaint in their excellent work”.
“The Community RePaint network now has over 65 schemes across the UK and with four new schemes about to start at the beginning of 2012, we are hopeful of even more leftover, reusable paint being available to brighten up peoples’ homes and communities,” said Community RePaint Network Manager Martin Pearse.
Do you need paint?
Last year, the team from Princes Trust in Newham received a whole rainbow of paint from Community RePaint to brighten local lives. If your community group needs paint, get in touch with your nearest scheme. If you are a family or individual on a low income you can also receive paint from your local Community RePaint scheme, follow the link above or call 0113 200 3959 for more information.
The award will support Community RePaint East London to expand their Community RePaint scheme across London, collecting unwanted, leftover paint and redistributing it to local authority departments, registered providers of social housing, schools, art groups, community groups and individuals. The award will also help the organisation further develop into a robust and sustainable social enterprise providing jobs, volunteering and training opportunities to local people.
Part of the wider network of Community RePaint initiatives across the UK, Forest Recycling Project redistributed over 36,000 litres of affordable reuse paint last year. The project prevented 73 tonnes of potentially reusable paint from being thrown away.
General Manager Nicole Muris welcomed the award: “This award offers a great boost to our efforts to prevent reusable paint from going to landfill and instead distribute it to people and communities in need. We are delighted to have won.”
Partnerships & Project Development Manager Brian Kelly added: “This is great news. The money will actually unlock a further £75,000 of investment from London Reuse Ltd and the London Waste and Recycling Board to help us double the number of sites where people can take their paint for recycling and triple the number of people and groups benefiting from free or low cost, cheap and reusable paint.”
Just three days into the New Year, Community RePaint East Berkshire joined the already 63-scheme strong network. Operating in Bracknell, Reading and Wokingham, the scheme is run by The Green Machine, collecting paint under contract from two HWRCs in Bracknell and Reading, and within a matter of weeks were filling their shelves with reusable paint, including 300 tins donated by a private company clearing out old offices.
Thanks to the goodwill of several individuals and organisations, Community RePaint Hull & East Riding quickly followed; collecting and redistributing paint in the local area to many different groups including the YMCA, a makeover of a youth club and low income families.
Since then, Community RePaint Bromley and Community RePaint Walsall have also opened their doors. The first run by the charity give2give has, in addition to the paint already being donated by local businesses, secured regular donations from a local paint retailer, whilst Community RePaint Walsall are looking to form links with local painters and decorators who have many litres of leftover paint, which is costly for them to dispose of.
Martin Pearse, Manager of the Community RePaint Network said: “With millions of litres of surplus and leftover paint to be found at Household Waste Recycling Centres, many local authorities and waste management companies are looking at how they can reuse paint, rather than dispose of it, and at the same time reduce their costs. Likewise, painters, decorators and the retail trade are finding that they have an abundance of surplus paint and an increasing number are contacting Community RePaint so that the paint can be reused.”
There are now nearly 70 schemes across the UK, and they’re not stopping there, with nine more schemes in the pipeline, we can expect to see even more surplus paint being put to good use in the UK.