A leading paint company is looking to put an end to millions of litres of paint being wasted every year by launching the UK’s first paint remanufacturing hub in March.
AkzoNobel, together with Community RePaint, have launched the first UK paint remanufacturing hub for social reuse at the Cambridgeshire Community Reuse and Recycling Network (CCORRN) to give old paint a new lease of life.
The hub was opened by MP Stephen Barclay on Friday, and is the first of four hubs the company hopes to launch by 2017.
Up to 50 million litres of paint is thrown away through landfill disposal or via incineration every year and over 50 per cent of this paint is normally reusable.
There are currently 75 Community RePaint schemes across the UK, which collect some of the paint and make it available for social reuse through community groups and families on low incomes.
March’s remanufacturing hub has plans to eventually triple its capacity, collecting and remanufacturing a range of emulsions in neutral and pastel shades. This new remanufactured paint will then be sold at low cost into the community for social benefit.
Paint can be taken to Cambridgeshire County Council’s Household Recycling Centres at Witchford, March, Milton, St Neots, Thriplow and Wisbech where it will be collected for recycling.
By the end of 2017, AkzoNobel and Community RePaint intend to have four hubs across the UK processing around 500,000 litres of paint.
Marcus Pheasant, CCORRN CEO said: “Having the first hub here at CCORRN in March is a tremendous accolade for the town and the county. It is testament to the small hardworking team of staff and volunteers who are constantly striving to improve access to reuse and recycling of resources for our community. We could not have done any of this without the support of our team, Cambridgeshire County Council, Amey, Community RePaint, AkzoNobel and Newlife Paints Ltd.
“We are looking forward to helping more people make their community’s lives a little more colourful.”
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