A ‘Community RePaint’ scheme at Grantham Household Waste Recycling Centre is helping prevent unused paint from going to waste by setting it to one side and giving it to anyone who wants it.
When usable paint is dropped off at the site it is added to the Community RePaint store from where anyone is encouraged to take it away for nothing.
Daniel McNally, executive councillor for waste at Lincolnshire County Council said that every year about 50 million litres of paint were thrown away across the UK. “We get a fair amount of nearly-new and sometimes unopened paint dropped off at our recycling centres in Lincolnshire. Through this scheme, we’re stopping a lot of this paint going to waste by allowing people to come along and take what they might need.
“If you’ve got a smaller job that needs doing, or something you just want to give a new lease of life to, this could save you some money on buying new. This paint would otherwise be sent to our energy from waste plant for disposal, so it’s keeping usable items in circulation too.
“Alongside our successful Reuse Shop at Tattershall, this is another way we’re thinking differently about our waste, trying to reduce the amount we throw away and reuse items as many times as possible.”
Community RePaint is a UK wide paint reuse network, sponsored by Dulux, with over 80 schemes operating nationally. The Grantham Community Repaint scheme is the first of its kind in Lincolnshire, with more planned to open at other household waste recycling centres in the county in 2025.
