Development of Resene PaintWise
Following nearly five years of development, Be PaintWise was launched in 2004 with the assistance of the North Shore City Council Wastewise fund and the ARC to encourage paint users to minimise the effects of their decorating on the environment. The first year of Be PaintWise included an unwanted paint and paint packaging recovery trial in Auckland to help homeowners recycle and dispose of their unwanted paint and paint packaging. Thousands and thousands of cans were returned to the Resene PaintWise service, some empty, many partially full of paint. Nearly 2000 litres of Resene paint in good condition was returned to the community through community groups, such as graffiti tag out trusts, arthouses, schools and the Paint Hutt City Beautiful project. Metal cans were recycled.

Responsible recovery has progressed rapidly since the end of the trial, with a permanent Resene PaintWise service launched in Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty on 1 September 2005, in the South Island in August 2006 and in the Lower North Island in May 2007 with implementation assistance provided by local councils. See the Resene PaintWise brochure for the councils that have supported PaintWise in your area.

Customers in these areas can now bring in unwanted paint and paint packaging, any brand, to designated Resene ColorShops. A PaintWise mobile truck service in each region travels around the stores, processing the materials received before returning to its depot. Plans are progressing to add further collection centres to the Resene PaintWise service in the future.

The Resene PaintWise service is being funded by Resene with implementation assistance from local and regional councils and the Ministry for the Environmentand has been developed with 3R. The ongoing programme is managed by The Resene Foundation charitable trust. The Resene Foundation is a non-profit foundation with the initial role of facilitating the PaintWise program and distributing any surplus resources to charitable purposes.

Resene provides financial assistance direct to The Resene Foundation supplemented by a PaintWise levy of 15c per litre on retail paint purchases and a small charge on non Resene cans and paint returned. There will be no charge at the time retail customers return Resene paint cans and product as these costs will be met by Resene and the PaintWise levy on purchases. All PaintWise levies and charges will be collected by Resene ColorShops and passed on in full to The Resene Foundation to manage the Resene PaintWise program. These funds will then be available to help pay the considerable costs of running the service.

The Be PaintWise program is an extension of Resene's environmentally responsible culture ensuring that we are minimising the impact on the environment in everything from product formulation and production to responsible recovery and disposal. Watch this space for more environment friendly developments in the future.

The Resene PaintWise program has been recognised as a breakthrough in environment focused programs receiving the Business Environmental Leadership Award in the recently announced ARC Environmental Awards 2005 and an Award for Excellence in the Environmental Packaging Awards 2005.

For more information check out these pages:

• Community groups - apply for free paint
• Environmental Choice product range
• How to clean brushes and rollers
• PaintWise Collection Centres
• Online paint calculator
• Reduce, reuse and recycle
• Resene PaintWise service questions and answers
• 3R - Responsible Recovery

Get PaintWise with Resene and we'll all benefit from a healthier environment.