Yarra Ranges residents have diverted 438,000kg of unwanted paint and packaging from Australian landfill and vital waterways as part of a national scheme to dispose of paint safely or repurpose it for other industrial uses.
The local tally is part of a record-breaking 28 million kg of paint safely disposed of since national paint recovery scheme Paintback started five years ago.
The successful Paintback Scheme, receives unwanted paint and paint packaging across its 155 permanent Australian collection sites – including at the Coldstream Recycling and Waste Transfer Station – and ensures it is disposed of safely or repurposed for other industrial uses.
In 2019/2020 alone, Australians safely disposed of 8.1 million kg of unwanted paint and packaging – smashing the previous year’s tally of 6.2 million kg.
“Our success is only possible through support from Australians, and collaboration with industry leaders, paint sellers, government and about 100 local councils who help us operate,” Paintback CEO Karen Gomez said.
“Yarra Ranges residents have been a vital part of this success story through operating and maintaining Paintback collection points.”
“They have helped Paintback live up to its values of being responsible, collaborative, inclusive and innovative, while inspiring people to live sustainably and make a real difference in keeping unwanted paint out of landfill.
“Thanks to them we are ready to seize the opportunities of the next five years to divert more paint from landfill and develop new uses for unwanted paint and plastic paint pails.”
“Household paint needs to be disposed of safely, otherwise it can end up in landfill or in our vital waterways,” Ms Gomez said.
“If you can’t reuse your paint, drop it off free of charge to a Paintback location and give your paint a second life.
“Paintback then transports the used paint from collection sites for treatment and repurposing, significantly reducing the paint in landfill and other inappropriate disposal pathways.”
Currently, unwanted paint is converted into an alternative fuel source replacing coal, or its water is extracted and used by other industries, reducing the need to use mains water.
This is where Paintback is funding Australian research into how it can improve the recovery of paint and pails to reduce demand on virgin resources.
