Paint it Green

Paint it Green presents a collaboration showcasing the positive benefits of reclaiming, re-using and reselling leftover paint

Paint it Green is a collaboration with the Waltham Forest-based Forest Recycling Project (FRP), a social enterprise and charity whose mission is to promote a greener and more inclusive community by reclaiming, re-purposing and affordably re-selling waste material.

While we all know about replacing single use plastics and the damaging effects of air travel on the environment, there’s much less public awareness of the harmful effects of paint manufacture and waste. Yet each year, 50m litres of paint goes to waste - enough to fill 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools. But reusing leftover paint has saved 1.4m kgs of Co2 emissions nationally. Paint it Green tackles this little town aspect of the climate emergency.

The photographs track the recycling and reuse journey of left over paint from the point of donation at council waste disposal sites through processing at their warehouse, to sale and re-use. Paint therefore becomes part of the circular economy rather than waste, where it will be incinerated causing, harm to the environment.