Painting the town greener
Resene is painting the town greener with the extension of the Resene PaintWise paint and paint packaging recovery program, the first comprehensive New Zealand product stewardship program for home decorators.
Following nearly five years of development, the Resene PaintWise paint and paint packaging product stewardship programme was launched in 2004 by Resene to encourage paint users to minimise the effects of their decorating on the environment. Following a successful trial, a permanent Resene PaintWise service was launched in the Upper North Island in September 2005, the South Island in August 2006 and the Lower North Island in May 2007, then further extended in 2008.
Residents in all these areas can bring in unwanted paint and paint packaging, any brand, to one of the Resene ColorShops designated PaintWise Collection centres.
With the assistance of 3R, a PaintWise mobile truck service visits the stores, processing the materials received before returning to its depot. Good quality Resene paint is provided free to community groups, waterborne paint is used for other applications such as covering graffiti, solventborne paint goes through a solvent recovery program and packaging is recycled.
Over 300,000 paint containers have been returned through the Resene PaintWise service and tens of thousands of litres collected from council landfills. Over 40,000 litres have been donated free to community groups including a large volume of grey PaintWise EchoPaint, which is used to cover graffiti.
Resene provides financial assistance direct to The Resene Foundation supplemented by a PaintWise levy of 15c per litre on retail paint purchases and a small charge on non Resene cans and paint returned and trade returns. There is no charge at the time retail customers return Resene paint cans and product as these costs are met by Resene and the PaintWise levy on purchases.
Resene’s managing director, Nick Nightingale, says the PaintWise idea was conceived in 1999 and is an extension of the company’s commitment to the development of environmentally friendlier products and practices.
“Over fifty years ago, Resene turned the paint industry on its head with the development of New Zealand’s first waterborne paint. Since then we’ve achieved a milestone of 10 years of Environmental Choice certification and developed a highly successful environmental choice product range, but we never intended to stop there and Resene PaintWise is testament to that,” he says.
Community groups can apply for donations of paint from the Resene PaintWise program online at www.resene.co.nz/paintwise.htm or complete and return the Community Paint Registration Form available from Resene ColorShops.
Resene PaintWise was a 2008 Ministry for the Environment Green Ribbon award winner.
For more information on Resene PaintWise, see www.resene.co.nz/paintwise.htm
Adam 10°