Q & A: Community RePaint — Paint redistribution project

Where do you see Community RePaint five years from now?

We are constantly working to develop and expand the Community RePaint network. Our mission is to prevent paint from going to waste by reusing it in communities at an affordable price, which gives everyone the opportunity to brighten their spaces and lives. We want this to be the case across the UK, so everyone has a scheme within a reasonable distance of their homes. 

For us, this means opening up many more schemes – we hope to increase to over 100 in the next five years. It also involves working with our existing schemes to make sure that we have a large network of drop-off points which people can access to pass their paint on.

How can people be more mindful and eco-friendly in their use and disposal of paint? And how can we raise more awareness of this?

The very first thing people can do is make sure they buy the right amount of paint for their project. We estimate that each year over 50 million litres of paint sold in the UK goes to waste.

Also, recent research suggests 50% of us have between 4 and 20 containers of part-used paint gathering dust, which shows we really are buying more than we need. Our website has a simple paint calculation tool from Dulux which allows people to work out how much paint they need.

Disposing of paint can be complicated and expensive. It is also a needless waste of valuable resources. Homeowners will have different options depending on where they live.

They would normally be advised to take it to a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) where it will be separated for incineration, or to solidify the paint and put it in their general waste. We offer a third option, where householders take it to an HWRC where it will be collected by one of our schemes, removing it from the waste stream and putting it back into use. We have a similar approach with businesses – rather than contacting waste management companies for disposal options, they can contact our schemes who will collect the paint and prepare it for reuse.

Our schemes also work with local retailers to make sure that any paint which can’t be sold, like mis-tinted shades or damaged containers, can also be put to good use. If you have leftover paint, you can find out how to pass it on to us here.