The BCF launches PaintCare to make better use of leftover decorative paint

The British Coatings Federation has announced its plans to tackle the issue of leftover decorative paint, much of which ends up in landfill today. PaintCare is an industry-led project to help create a circular economy, aiming to make better use of the estimated 50M lit of leftover decorative paint generated each year in the country, which is enough to fill approximately 20 Olympic sized swimming pools.

The project is backed by various stakeholders across the nation including decorative paint manufacturers, retailers, trade associations, waste management companies, local and national government and other third-sector organisations. These stakeholders will be confirming their commitment to help create a sustainable circular economy for leftover decorative paint, to increase reuse and remanufacturing rates from 2% to more than 50%.

At the BCF’s Annual Conference in Chester, Chief Executive Tom Bowtell said of the PaintCare launch: "Despite the great strides made by the UK paint industry to reduce their environmental impact, leftover paint continues to end up in landfill. We now have the ability to reuse and remanufacture paint but challenges remain over creating a national network of drop off points at council recycling centres, finding markets for remanufactured paint and regulatory issues. The aim of PaintCare is to help remove these barriers, to create a national solution to the leftover paint problem but this will not happen overnight and will require collaboration from all stakeholders.”