If you’re a householder and you have cans of useable leftover paint gathering dust in your shed or attic, you can now take it to one of Devon’s Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) for others to use.
The idea of the new Community Repaint scheme is simple; if you have any useable paint, perhaps left over from a home improvement project, why not make some extra room and take it to a recycling centre?
Community RePaint is a UK-wide initiative that makes paint available to others; all they have to do is collect it.
It’s a simple, effective way to reduce waste, to support sustainability, and help local residents, charities and community groups access affordable decorating materials.
The scheme is now available at every one of our recycling centres except our facility at Torrington – if you have any questions, please ask a member of staff at one of our recycling centres.
The scheme in Devon has only been running for a short time but it has already proved a huge hit – in June alone, our recycling centres redistributed 1756 litres of paint to members of the public.
Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity said:
“We are delighted to get this scheme off the ground; it’s another example of our ongoing commitment to sustainability and supporting Devon’s communities. It makes sense to allow others to use your leftover paint rather than paying to dispose of it.
“We have already had a request for 150 litres of white paint from a community youth group, and we are working towards fulfilling that.”
For more details about how the scheme works visit: www.communityrepaint.org.uk.