A new expanded scheme to collect and dispose of unwanted paint instead of it ending up in landfill has been launched in Canberra.
Australians buy more than 100 million litres of paint each year but about 5 per cent of it ends up as waste, making paint and its packaging one of the biggest source of liquid waste into landfill.
Paintback is a voluntary, national project which offers a safe and accessible way to dispose of unused architectural and decorative paint.
It replaces the previous household paint collection service which limited dropoffs to 20 litres per visit and required paint to be decanted into storage containers.
Businesses and households can now take up to 100 litres of unused architectural and decorative paint to either Mitchell or Mugga Lane Resource Management Centres, per visit, secured in containers of 20 litres or less.
Paintback then transports the collected paint to its treatment facility where containers and paint are separated.
Containers are recycled and unused paint is treated in a number of ways including energy recovery for solvent and liquid/solid separation for water-based paint.
Minister for Transport and City Services Meegan Fitzharris said Paintback would reset the way people dealt with disused paint and paint cans.
“Paintback will help in our ongoing push to encourage the community to think differently about what goes in their bins,” Ms Fitzharris said.
“The project has shown success around Australia, with collection points now up and running in all major cities and regional centres.
“Most households will have left over paints which would have eventually found their way to landfill, so launching Paintback in Canberra should go a long way to addressing that issue.”
Paintback is funded through a 15 cents plus GST per litre levy on eligible products, between 1 litre and 20 litres inclusive. The monies collected go to Paintback Ltd, which is an independent, not-for-profit organisation.
Its governing rules ensure that these funds are used to establish and operate the collection program and research new ways to repurpose unwanted paint materials. Paintback will also fund research to find better uses for unwanted paint.
For more information on Paintback visit paintback.com.au.
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