B&Q partners with British Coatings Federation to support UK paint recycling trial

B&Q has announced it will take part in a UK PaintCare trial in selected stores. The PaintCare initiative is an industry led programme developed by the British Coatings Federation to address the UK’s significant leftover decorative paint challenge. An estimated 34 million litres of waste decorative paint are generated each year in the UK and only 2 percent is currently recycled, with most being landfilled, incinerated or disposed of incorrectly.

As part of this trial, customers will be able to recycle leftover paint and tins at participating stores. Returned paint and tins will be transported to specialist facilities where it will be assessed for reuse, remanufacture or recycling into alternative products, while items that aren’t suitable, will be safely disposed of in a responsible way. This trial phase will help evaluate the practicalities of creating a functioning circular economy for decorative paint and packaging in the UK, which is central to PaintCare’s long term ambition to increase reuse, recycling and remanufacture rates to 75 percent by 2032 (from 2 percent in 2021).

The PaintCare trial will operate in the following B&Q stores:

1. B&Q Coventry, Alvis Retail Park, Holyhead Road, Coventry, CV5 8BW

2. B&Q Coventry Brandon Road, Binley Woods, Coventry, CV3 2JD

3. B&Q Halesowen, Mucklow Hill, Halesowen, B62 8EP

4. B&Q Kidderminster, Green Street, Kidderminster, DY10 1AX

5. B&Q Solihull, Chalford Way, Solihull Retail Park, Marshall Lake Road, B90 4RB

6. B&Q Wolverhampton, Spring Vale Business Park, Black Country Route, WV14 0QL

7. B&Q Wednesbury, Axletree Way and Park Lane, Gallagher Retail Park, WS10 9QY

It will also operate across other participating retailers, including Brewers Decorator Centres, Dulux Decorator Centres and Johnstone’s Decorating Centres. Together with B&Q, their support will help test how a broader circular-economy system for leftover decorative paint and packaging could operate in practice at national scale.

Samantha Dyer, Head of Responsible Business at B&Q, said: “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. 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.”

Dr Steve Snaith, Director of PaintCare Ltd, said: “Every year, millions of litres of leftover paint are lost to landfill and incineration in the UK. The PaintCare trials will help us understand how best to collect, remanufacture and recycle this valuable material and support a more circular future for decorative paint, and the support from B&Q and other leading retailers is key to us developing a model we can scale up and create an accessible national scheme, to help us achieve our ambition to increase reuse, recycling and remanufacture rates to 75 percent by 2032.”