What is Community RePaint?
The UK network
Community RePaint is an award-winning UK network of over 60 community-based paint reuse schemes, stretching from Cornwall to Belfast to the Shetland Isles.
Individual schemes collect “half-tins” of leftover, domestic paint from householders at a donation point at the local council’s household waste recycling centre or civic amenity site.
Unsold and end-of-line paint is also collected from local DIY stores such as B&Q and Homebase, trade centres such as Dulux Decorator Centres and local outlets. Painters and decorators also donate leftover paint from decorating jobs.
The paint is stored at the local scheme’s premises and then redistributed to local charities, community and voluntary groups and individuals in social need. Paint is usually offered free of charge although schemes encourage small financial donations to help cover their costs. Some schemes operate annual subscription programmes.
The UK network is managed by the employee-owned, not-for-profit environmental consultancy, Resource Futures. Please click here for more information on Resource Futures and how Community RePaint began.
Trade and business
Community RePaint has been supported and sponsored by ICI Paints since its inception in 1993 and forms part of ICI Paint’s product stewardship programme. It also has links with a wide range of other paint manufacturers, retailers and the painting and decorating sector.
Community RePaint continues to make closer links with the paint industry and its trade bodies and with local authorities in order to redistribute paint to an ever-increasing number of charitable organisations and individuals in social need.
Job training and volunteering
The running of Community RePaint schemes support jobs and offers work training and volunteer places eg to the long-term unemployed and people with learning disabilities. Many schemes also run training courses in tandem with paint redistribution in subjects such as health and safety, manual handling, waste management and computing. Several of these are accredited to NVQ and City and Guilds level.
Milestones
2000 – Community RePaint wins two prizes at the Biffaward Awards, for Best Waste Minimisation Project and Overall Project Winner. Awards presented by the Secretary of State for the Environment.
2002 – Community RePaint is cited as an example of best practice in a European Commission report with a recommendation that other member states set up similar networks.
2004 – Community RePaint wins an ICI Chief Executive award (Europe) for Community Involvement.
Statistics
In 2005, the UK network:
• redistributed over 150,000 litres of paint
• worth over £600,000
• to a total of 6,600 individuals and community and voluntary groups.
Additionally, operation of the network supported:
• 70 part-time and full-time jobs.
• 140 part-time and full-time volunteer positions.
• the running of 60 training courses.
