B&Q has launched a new paint recycling trial across several UK stores as part of an industry-wide initiative aimed at tackling the country’s growing decorative paint waste problem.
The retailer has joined the PaintCare programme, an initiative developed by the British Coatings Federation, which aims to significantly increase the reuse and recycling of leftover decorative paint and packaging.
The UK currently generates an estimated 34 million litres of waste decorative paint each year, yet only two per cent is recycled. Most unused paint ends up in landfill, is incinerated, or is disposed of incorrectly.
The PaintCare trial aims to address this challenge by giving customers a simple way to return leftover paint and empty tins directly to participating retailers.
Trial running in selected stores
As part of the scheme, customers will be able to bring unused paint and empty containers to participating B&Q stores, where they will be collected and transported to specialist facilities.
At these facilities, the returned materials will be assessed to determine whether they can be reused, remanufactured or recycled into alternative products. Items unsuitable for reuse or recycling will be disposed of responsibly.
The trial will run in the following B&Q locations:
Coventry – Alvis Retail Park, Holyhead Road
Coventry – Brandon Road, Binley Woods
Halesowen – Mucklow Hill
Kidderminster – Green Street
Solihull – Solihull Retail Park, Marshall Lake Road
Wolverhampton – Spring Vale Business Park, Black Country Route
Wednesbury – Gallagher Retail Park
The programme is also being trialled with other participating retailers, including Brewers Decorator Centres, Dulux Decorator Centres and Johnstone’s Decorating Centres.
Together, these retailers will help test how a broader circular economy system for decorative paint and packaging could operate at a national scale.
Towards a circular paint economy
The trial represents an early step toward PaintCare’s long-term ambition to build a nationwide system for handling leftover paint more sustainably.
The programme aims to increase reuse, recycling and remanufacturing rates for decorative paint and packaging to 75 per cent by 2032, a significant increase from the two per cent recorded in 2021.
Samantha Dyer, head of responsible business at B&Q, said the initiative is designed to make sustainable disposal easier for both DIY customers and trade professionals.
“We are pleased to participate in this early-stage PaintCare trial and proud to support the British Coatings Federation in concept-testing a national, industrywide approach to managing leftover paint,” she said.
“By giving customers and trade professionals an easy and convenient way to return leftover paint and empty tins, we are helping them make more responsible choices without adding extra steps to their projects.
“We want sustainable disposal to feel completely effortless, supporting the development of a more circular approach to DIY waste and helping keep valuable materials in circulation for longer.”
If successful, the trial could provide the blueprint for a nationwide system to capture and reuse leftover paint, reducing waste while helping the UK DIY sector move closer to a circular economy model.
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