Tag: Paint

The NEXT paint solution

After realizing they had 398 tins of emulsion paint that they were unable to use, Next reached out to us to see if the paint could find a new home through the Community RePaint network. Five of our schemes took in the paint; Hull and Humber, Bristol City, Glasgow, Liverpool and Thurrock meaning that none of it was wasted.

This saved 1,990 litres of paint from going to waste and more importantly is now being sold at an affordable price to individuals and groups in these areas of the UK. Whether it’s sprucing up a community center, refreshing a shelter, brightening a school environment, or redecorating a home, donated paint can transform spaces and brighten the lives of those who use them.

We’d all rather there was less waste, but we’re also wanting to champion businesses who deal with waste responsibly- so our big thanks to Next for your donation and demonstrating how corporate companies can commit to environmental and social good!

Some of the paint is already brightening walls in this home in Bristol!

Do you have surplus paint you’re looking to pass on to a good cause? Whether it’s 5 tins or 5,000 tins, we’re keen to stop it going to waste and see it brightening lives. Click here to tell us all about it.

 

The Reuse Revolution!

Charity shops, for example, have long been staples of the British high street, offering pre-loved clothing, furniture, books, and household items at affordable prices. These establishments not only provide a sustainable alternative to fast fashion and disposable consumer culture but also support charitable causes and local communities.

There has been a surge in online platforms and marketplaces dedicated to the buying, selling, and swapping of second-hand goods. Websites and apps facilitate peer-to-peer transactions, enabling individuals to declutter their homes, find unique treasures, and reduce waste through the resale of unwanted items.

When it comes to clothing and furniture, we’ve got it! Its a win win situation. Pass on unwanted items that still have life in them and/or pick up vintage treasures affordably and sustainably. But how do we make this transition when it comes to other sectors like food, electronics…paint?

The solution is two fold, keep up demand and demand better.

Keep up demand:

As consumers we must think reuse first in all areas of our lives, no easy feet when our phones are screaming buy buy buy for hours and hours each day and getting more and more clever when it comes to knowing our weaknesses. Why not put visual reminders in your life than prompt the opposite. Nothing beats a big sign in the kitchen or changing the screensaver on your phone!

Prompt your nearest and dearest. It’s easier to notice other’s habits rather than your own. Why not find an accountability buddy, a friend, partner or sibling who nudges you to reuse, and who you can prompt too.

Talk about reuse! Make sure you share you’re reuse stories online and to your friends, we know you want to!

To find your nearest paint reuse scheme click here.

Demand better:

When it comes to providing mega waste, it’s the mega companies that produce the most, and the people who hold them to account…the people. That’s you. Why not write to your favourite brands and companies to engage them in the reuse conversation. you might spark something that changes the world.

We’re working to ensure that no paint gets wasted, and instead goes to brightening homes and lives. So why not donate the paint you no longer need and buy pre-loved paint for your next project?

 

What next, post-Christmas, post-tree?

Have you taken your tree down yet? Are you a straight-away let’s move on kind of person, or a let’s keep it up one more day sort of person?

Either way, have you noticed that without a tree your room looks weird, empty and somewhat unbalanced.  For 345 days a year my home didn’t need a huge tree to feel complete. And yet here I am, and for at least 10 days post tree, there is most definitely a void and I’m struggling to remember which way the armchair even faced before December.

It’s a strange time of year, and if you’re anything like me it could go one of two ways, at speed in a whirl of motivation and expectation or trudge along with a seemly endless run of bad weather and disappointment.

So here’s my plan and join me if you’d like. I’m going to use this strange time and strange feeling room to take stock. What’s great and what’s not? What do I need, and what could I lose?

What did that tree give me, and how can I create that feeling again. Warmth, comfort, cheer, hope, excitement, nostalgia. A wall of paintings perhaps, or photographs, lots of houseplants, a lamp, a bunch of flowers, a mural, a feature wall in jewel tones, or bright yellow up-cycled bookcase? Need some DIY support?- read our guide.

If your home is on your mind, you’re not alone, and if you need paint for a project, piece of furniture, feature wall, room, or whole house, you can pick up that paint for an incredibly low price and transform your space without breaking the bank.

What’s more, by buying from a Community Repaint scheme you’re saving the paint from unnecessary incineration. Over 50 million litres of paint go to waste each year – in sheds, at the end of jobs, as mis-tints or damaged tins or just to clear stock, and all this surplus paint has the power to transform a space.

So join me, combat waste, save money, paint a thing and keep the spirit of that tree.

To find your nearest scheme click here.

Interactive Christmas Nativity Extravaganza!

volunteer painting with ReColour paint, scenery with desert and sky.

King’s Church Selby created an interactive nativity extravaganza, with hundreds of children from Selby, North Yorkshire, and the surrounding area coming to ‘walk through’ the nativity story in an unforgettable experience.

Professor pendulum take kids back in time in his time machine

This year, they had over 400 primary school children and teachers visit the event over 2 weeks with 36 performances! The children went on an adventure, time travelling in Professor Pendulum’s Time Machine. They went back 2000 years to find out about the first Christmas! Each walk-through scene had the children meet the characters and interact with them and collect evidence to discover more about the first Christmas.

actors in nativity scene with ReColour backdrop

To create this interactive and immersive experience they used lighting, sound and paint…and lots of it. The church ordered over 100 litres of paint in over 12 different colours to create the various scenes, both modern and traditional. The ReColour paint came from Community RePaint Wirral.

finished scene painting ReColour paint

Sonia, the project co-ordinator said “the paint you supplied was brilliant! We were delighted with the quality of the paint and also the wonderful service we received from Beckie at Recipro.”

2 volunteers painting set grey

Congratulations to the 14 people who painted the scenery (and many more than detailing and dressing the sets) as well as the 20 people a day who volunteered to make the Experience wonderful and memorable for the local children. It was a project that involved the whole community.

ReColour paint, brightened a huge number of lives this Christmas. For paint that was once deemed waste, with think it’s proved to be a fantastic reuse project.

two volunteers painting sky blue on set

If you need paint for a project, large or small, Community RePaint can help!

To find your nearest scheme click here, to find out more about our ReColour remanufactured paint click here. ReColour remanufactured paint is bulk produced from leftover paint that is filtered, treated and blended to produce a high-quality range of emulsion, masonry and chalk paint, available in over 20 colours. ReColour paint is perfect for projects requiring more than 60 litres of paint and prices start from £1.20 per litre.

DIY Christmas decorations – Zero Waste Christmas 🎄

We know it can be hard at this time of the year to watch our spending and buying habits so we have put together a Zero Waste Christmas guide to help you reduce your waste during the festive period. In this post, we’re talking Christmas decorations and encouraging you to create your own homemade DIY Christmas Decorations.

Decorate your house with homemade decorations, using your creative skills and upcycling old materials. We love these cute Santa paintbrushes which you can make with old paintbrushes, leftover paint and a few crafty pieces.

Christmas paintbrushes

[📸 Pinterest]

Or why not take a walk to the local woods and gather up some pinecones to create your own table DIY Christmas decorations? Remember to leave some for the wildlife though! Give your pinecones a wash when you get home, wait for them to dry, and then paint the ends with white paint to give it a wintery feel. You can reuse these again for years to come.

Christmas pinecones with painted tips in white emulsion

Or how do you fancy creating your own edible DIY Christmas decorations? BBC Good Food have delicious recipes, including edible centrepieces and sugar charms – just remember to eat them before they go off!

Cupcake Tree DIY Christas Decoration  Ginger Bread House DIY Christmas Decorations

[📸 BBC Good Food]

Read our other Zero Waste Christmas Guide blogs for more inspiration on how to be more environmentally conscious this Christmas, including DIY Christmas Trees and greeting cards, wrapping alternatives and food waste minimisation.

DIY Christmas tree – Zero Waste Christmas 🎄

We know it can be hard at this time of the year to watch our spending and buying habits so we have put together a Zero Waste Christmas guide to help you reduce your waste during the festive period. In this post, we’re talking Christmas trees and encouraging you to create your own DIY Christmas Tree.

Did you know that around six million trees are thrown out after Christmas, creating more than 9,000 tonnes of waste? That is enough waste to stretch end to end from London to the North Pole and back!

Why not create your own upcycled wooden tree as an eco-friendly alternative?

We love this DIY Wooden Christmas tree, complete with old door handles for decorations. Freecyle, Freegle, Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree are good places to source unwanted and often free wood and handles – if you don’t already have any lying around.

The great thing about this eco-friendly wooden tree is that you can keep it for years. If you fancy a change, you can simply get your paintbrush out and repaint it a different colour.

[📸 Pillar Box Blue]

If you need paint, find your nearest Community RePaint scheme to pick up some affordable, reusable paint, starting from just £1 per litre.

If you are in the area, Community RePaint Loughborough are selling upcycled Christmas Pallet Trees, ready for you to take home and paint.  You can order a tree through their Facebook page and collect it when it’s ready.

[📸 Community RePaint Loughborough]

Read our other Zero Waste Christmas Guide blogs for more inspiration on how to be more environmentally conscious this Christmas, including DIY Christmas decoration ideas and greeting cards, wrapping alternatives and food waste minimisation.

Cheltenham Paint Festival uses recycled paint

Cheltenham Paint Festival Street Art, community mural

The Cheltenham Paint Festival is a free art trail, showcasing a wide range of high-quality artwork in various painting styles from national and international artists. This year, 125 artists attended to paint in 60 different locations around Cheltenham, providing a colourful 5-mile walk for locals and visitors.

The festival has been featured in The Times, The Telegraph and has been part of a 2-hour long feature on Sky Arts.

With the global pandemic ongoing, the festival organisers said it was more important than ever for the paint festival to go ahead, to brighten up the local community and bring some colour into people’s lives.

Cheltenham Paint Festival community mural

However, this year, like many festivals around the country, it was scaled back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a reduced festival budget, the organisers required low-cost paint.

Artist and Founder of the festival, Andy Davies, contacted Community RePaint to purchase 100 litres of affordable white paint to use at the festival. The central team passed the festival’s request onto Community RePaint Wirral, who was able to provide the festival with the paint at just £1 per litre, meaning it could still go ahead on a reduced budget.

Cheltenham Paint Festival Street Art, Earth, community mural

Community RePaint Wirral is one of the biggest schemes on the Community RePaint Network. In 2019, the scheme redistributed over 104,000-litres of leftover paint to individuals and groups in the community. They were very proud to be supporting the 2020 edition of the Cheltenham Paint Festival.

Andy, the festival founder, told us “The delivery was great, the driver went out of the way to get them across the garden and put them on the drive which was much appreciated. The paint itself was excellent and so useful.”

The local community appreciate the art around the town, providing some light in such dark times. You can view a full gallery of the 2020 artwork on the Official Cheltenham Paint Festival website.

Cheltenham Paint Festival, People Painting  Cheltenham Paint Festival, People Painting

Do you need affordable paint for an upcoming project? Find your nearest scheme here.

Brilliant White paint freshens up exercise venue

Art of Movement is dedicated to martial arts and fitness, hosting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Capoeira and dance classes for the local community. The venue has been redecorated using 70 litres of ReColour Brilliant White emulsion paint, which gives it a fresh, crisp new look.

The images below show the before painting (top) and after painting (bottom) photos. 
Before and after redecoration of the exercise venue, Art of Movement in Bristol, using our cheap and environmentally friendly ReColour emulsion paint. You can watch a video of the venue transformation below by clicking on the play button.

Art of Movement is thrilled with the results and thankful to the Community RePaint Network and our remanufacturing centre on the Wirral for the efficient service.

The images below show the before painting (top) and after painting (bottom) photos.
Before and after redecoration of the exercise venue, Art of Movement in Bristol, using our cheap and environmentally friendly ReColour emulsion paint.

“Thank you!! Our room looks so much nicer now thanks to you!! 😍”

ReColour is available in a range of 20+ colours, in both neutral and statement shades of Matt or Silk emulsion. Our paint is both affordable and eco-friendly, removing perfectly good paint from the waste stream💚🌍
View our colour range and order ReColour here!

 

ReColour paint now sold in Wisbech

After the incredible success of Community RePaint Cambridgeshire located in March, the team expanded to sell ReColour paint in Wisbech. Community RePaint Cambridgeshire which has been operating since 2011, is now one of the largest schemes in the Network. Run by Cambridgeshire Community Reuse and Recycling Network (CCORRN), they collect around 30,000 litres of paint each year.

The new Wisbech store will sell “rescued resources creatively repurposed”, including DIY supplies, workwear, arts and crafts, furniture and remanufactured ReColour paint. In 2019, Community RePaint Cambridgeshire redistributed 47,735 litres of paint and happy to expand to Wisbech.

A selection of our low cost and environmentally friendly ReColour paint. In a range of colours in Matt and Silk Emulsion.

ReColour was started when we identified a need to reuse larger quantities of leftover paint,  increasing the amount of paint we can divert from the waste stream and meet the demand from the community for good quality affordable paint. The paint is available in over 18 colours and comes in 5 litres containers.

The Wisbech store is located at the Remo – Eco Superstore, 55 The Horsefair Shopping Centre, Wisbech, PE13 1AR. They are open from 10am to 4pm (closed Wednesdays & Sundays).

A photo of a staff member at Community RePaint Cambridgeshire holding a flyer that reads "do you need paint?". Behind are two long shelves full of low cost and eco friendly ReColour in silk emulsion, soft sheen emulsion and matt emulsion in off white, white and cream.A selection of our low cost and environmentally friendly ReColour paint. In a range of colours in Matt and Silk Emulsion.

Community RePaint Cornwall opens a new branch in St Austell

Community RePaint Cornwall, who have been a part of the Community RePaint network since 2018 is now expanding to distributes even more reusable paint in Cornwall. It has recently opened a new branch in St Austell due to popular demand. The shop repurposes unused paint, preventing it from going to waste. It is also home to the Remake Community Fridge and the Prosperity Online Centre.

Carolyn Boyce, who is the manager of Community RePaint Cornwall, had been contacted by numerous members of the St Austell community to bring a RePaint shop to the local area. This comes after the great success of the Truro Community RePaint branch.

The St Austell branch is based at 86 Stennack Road, Holmbush, St Austell, Cornwall, PL25 3JQ. The shop is open every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9:30am – 5:30pm. The Truro shop is open 10am – 4pm on Saturdays for customers to pop in and buy affordable, reusable paint.

Find Community RePaint Cornwall – St Austell here: