Colouring the community: 'To throw away paint is an environmental crime'
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Version 0 of 1. It’s taken 40 litres of emulsion to basecoat the walls. A further 260 litres is needed to paint the murals, which will then be varnished. But the paint comes free. It’s part of the 90 tons of waste paint that a not-for-profit scheme, Bradford Community RePaint collects each year. In a Yorkshire subway, a team of artists are using unwanted paint that may otherwise have been tipped into landfill to create murals and stars with the names of local Bradford celebrities – from the Brontë sisters to boxers – in the Jacobs Well and the National Media Museum subways. Twelve walls show scenes with well-known people and landmarks including Salts Mill, the Wool Exchange and Bradford City Football Club. Bradford City of Film will be celebrated with murals showing highlights of 100 years of filming and a red-painted floor will give it a showbiz look. Karen Hutchinson, project manager for the Bradford Community RePaint scheme says: “Before we came along, these areas were grotty and dull. The team of artists, long-term unemployed people and volunteers are showing what you can do with unwanted paint, a product that’s so often wasted.” Bradford Community RePaint is one of the largest organisations that forms part of a national not-for-profit network called the Community RePaint network, which is, in turn, managed by non-profit Resource Futures. Each scheme works slightly differently but they all collect donations of paint. Some collect it from Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC), while others from the painting trade – end of product ranges at DIY shops, for example – do both. Each scheme then uses, redistributes or sells the paint to community groups and individuals at low cost. As anyone who does their own decorating knows, getting rid of leftover paint isn’t always straightforward. You can take unwanted paint to your local tip but there’s no legislation to say that councils have to accept it. Most do but disposing of it is problematic. While HWRCs have to meet targets to reduce the liquid that goes into landfill, budget cuts can make incinerating paint – a typical method to get rid of it – unaffordable. In fact, the situation has led to people who take paint to HWRCs occasionally being told to solidify it, by mixing it with cat litter or sawdust, so it can then be chucked into landfill. Martin Pearse, manager of the Community RePaint Network says: “Solidifying paint is not the answer. Our research shows that of the 43m litres that come into household waste recycling centres each year, 28m litres of it is reusable. To throw it away is an environmental crime.” Instead, the Community RePaint Network works with HWRCs and collects unwanted paint, from consumers and the paint trade. Each of the 73 schemes runs autonomously and varies in the way they sell or redistribute the paint. Community RePaint Bristol, for example, sells the paint to anyone who comes into its shop. For consumers, it’s priced at £2 a litre. Charities and community groups get it slightly cheaper. The project also runs a furniture scheme, which uses the paint. Volunteers as young as 12 years old, many of whom are struggling in mainstream education, work with a qualified carpenter to upcycle quality pieces of furniture, such as this red Nathan sideboard, painted in Rectory Red by Farrow and Ball, sold on eBay and in the shop. “We’ve had Victorian library tables, 1960s sideboards, and a wardrobe that we recently turned into a garden shed, which we call a Shedrobe,” says Vicky Beckwith, chief executive of ReWork Ltd, which runs the projects. She says the upcycled end appeals to local residents who want quirky pieces and helps raise money. Makala Campbell, a regular buyer says: “I love it because it’s good for the environment and it gives young people a chance. Every room in my house is now kitted out with either their fab makes, or something I got cheap and did up myself with their advice.” At other schemes, you need to be a low-income household or community group to be eligible to buy the paint. Community RePaint Bromley, for example, sells two-litre tins, which is enough to paint a small double bedroom, to those on low incomes for £2.50 and if you can’t do the decorating yourself, they can sometimes help. Community RePaint Bromley painted the kitchen of a housing association tenant Mary Doughty, whose home had been flooded, for instance. They got the paint for free and provided the labour free of charge. Doughty, a pensioner who has limited mobility, says: “The volunteers washed down the walls and repainted the whole room, they did the job quickly and I was thrilled with the result.” Future plans for Community RePaint, which is sponsored by Dulux, include filtering and repackaging unwanted paint into new tins and potentially selling the paint in charity shops. Pearse says: “Reusing unwanted paint solves several key problems. However, it’s a big issue and we know that we’re only touching the tip of the iceberg.” Interested in finding out more about how you can live better? Take a look at this month’s Live Better challenge here. The Live Better Challenge is funded by Unilever; its focus is sustainable living. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled advertisement feature. Find out more here. |