Free paint recycling shop aims to tackle waste

The scheme aims to ensure unused and leftover paint is not thrown away

A new paint donation scheme has opened at a Waste Recycling Centre in Lincolnshire, the council said.

The facility at Louth Household Waste Recycling Centre has a free community paint store so unused paint is not thrown away.

A spokesperson for Lincolnshire County Council urged residents to give their paint "a second life" to improve the recycling of paint.

The new store follows the successful Grantham Community RePaint scheme which the council said had stopped 1,000 litres of paint from going to waste since December 2024.

During a government debate on household waste, it was suggested that paint products accounted for 71,500 tonnes of waste, which it said cost local authorities £20.6m to deal with.

Daniel McNally, executive councillor for waste at Lincolnshire County Council, said: "Each year 55 million litres of perfectly good paint is wasted across the UK.

"We see lots of it at our recycling centres – some of which has barely been used."

"If you've got some leftover tins of paint, drop them off at either of our sites and give them a second life – it could save fellow residents or even local charities some cash," he added.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.