Published on:
18
May 2011
Most of us have half empty pots of leftover paint sitting in the garage. Now you can take this paint to be recycled at the Council's Forthbank Recycling Centre.
Working in conjunction with RePaint Scotland, a Glasgow-based social enterprise, residents can deposit any unused and unwanted water-based paints at Forthbank, where it will be collected for recycling.
Last year Clackmannanshire set a Scottish recycling record of 48.5% and this latest development is part of the Council's effort to constantly provide new ways for householders to recycle a greater range of materials.
All water based paint products such as emulsion, eggshell and satin, gloss, floor and tile paint, masonry paint, exterior paint (glosses and satins), varnishes and wood stains along with fence and shed stains are all suitable for recycling. Any paint product that can be cleaned from a brush with water is acceptable.
The site attendants at Forthbank will be happy to advise on whether your paint can be recycled.
RePaint Scotland already works with six other Scottish local authorities - the scheme is good for the environment, good for people and good for the pocket.
The social enterprise was established in 2008 to provide a solution for diverting paint from landfill. It provides an outlet for unwanted, reusable water based paint, which it sees as a valuable resource that can be processed to make a high quality, 100% recycled paint product.
Every week, they collect and process an average of five tonnes of paint, providing 2,752 litres of re-usable paint for sale and donation. That adds to up to 137,610 litres every year.
After collection, every container is inspected for quality and then sorted into colours. The reusable paint is blended into 12 standard and 4 limited editions colours in batches of 1000 litres. It is then filtered and tested for performance and quality. Finally, it is decanted into 2.5, 5 & 10 litre containers for resale and donation. The enterprise generates its income via collection fees as well as paint sales.
RePaint Scotland donates 10 per cent of all the paint collected from local authority civic amenity sites to community projects within the local authority area from which it is collected.
Local social enterprise ACE has joined the growing network of distributors, and local residents can buy recycled paint directly from ACE at the Carlsberg Depot, Greenfield Street, Alloa.
RePaint is made from 100% recycled paint that saves on water and energy usage, prevents pollution from the mining of virgin materials and keeps messy liquid waste out of landfill. By reducing the amount of unwanted paint going to landfill (a staggering 250 tonnes or 208,500 litres is sent to landfill every year) natural materials are saved as a result of not manufacturing new paint.
You are invited to send a photographer to Forthbank Recycling Centre at 10am on Friday 20th May 2011 when Councillor Eddie Carrick will launch the new service. There will be a second photocall at ACE's depot, Greenfield Street, Alloa at 10.20am when RePaint will deliver their first consignment of paint which will be available for local residents to buy.
Councillor Carrick, Sustainability Portfolio Holder, said: "Households in Clackmannanshire are the best recyclers in Scotland and I would like to thank everyone who makes full use of the recycling services provided by the Council. However, more remains to be done to meet Scotland's Zero Waste Challenge and that is why we are always looking at ways of expanding the range of materials that can be recycled. This new initiative is cost neutral to the Council because the money we pay RePaint to collect our paint is what we would have had to pay in landfill tax."
A wide range of materials can be recycled at Forthbank including: books, CDs and DVDs, car batteries and gas cylinders, garden waste, soil, stone and rubble, washing machines, cookers and prams, wood, bikes and electronic equipment.
Call 0500 545 540 or visit www.clacksweb.org.uk for more information about the Council's recycling services.