Paint recycling gets the big tick from Minister for the Environment

Minister for the Environment Nick Smith announced the accreditation of Resene’s PaintWise paint and packaging recycling programme today, the first accreditation for a paint recycling programme and only the sixth product stewardship scheme he has accredited.

“This scheme provides New Zealanders with an environmentally responsible way of disposing of their waste paint.” said Dr Smith.

Following nearly five years of development, Resene PaintWise was launched in 2004 by Resene to encourage paint users to minimise the effects of their decorating on the environment. The service with assistance from 3R Group then rolled out to the rest of New Zealand to become nationwide in mid 2007.

2011 was already a milestone year for Resene PaintWise with the programme reaching over one million packs returned. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of recycled paint and packaging have also been recycled or reused.

And in a world first, Resene has now started to use 100% post consumer recycled paint pails made out of plastic Resene pails collected from the PaintWise service. Pails being returned to the PaintWise service are being washed and reprocessed into ‘new’ Resene paint pails using a custom design process developed in New Zealand. The concept is so new that the plant needed to run the process has had to be designed and built from the ground up using kiwi ingenuity. There is no limit to how many times the pails can be recycled - as long as the Resene pails are returned they can be recycled many times in the years to come.

Decorators can bring in unwanted paint and paint packaging, any brand, to one of the Resene ColorShops designated PaintWise Collection centres during opening hours.

Good quality Resene paint is provided free to community groups, waterborne paint is used for other applications such as covering graffiti, solventborne paint goes through a solvent recovery program and packaging is recycled. Already over 100,000 litres of paint has been donated.

Resene’s managing director, Nick Nightingale, says the PaintWise idea was conceived in 1999 and is an extension of the company’s commitment to the development of environmentally friendlier products and practices.

“Over fifty years ago, Resene turned the paint industry on its head with the development of New Zealand’s first waterborne paint. Since then we’ve achieved a milestone of 15 years of Environmental Choice certification and developed a highly successful environmental choice product range, but we never intended to stop there and Resene PaintWise is testament to that,” he says.

“We’re very proud to receive accreditation for the Resene PaintWise service. It’s a welcome reward for all the effort Resene and 3R Group staff have put in over the years to make the PaintWise service a success. We’re also delighted by, and immensely grateful for, the support and encouragement from everyone using the Resene PaintWise. Without their support the service wouldn’t be what it is today.”

Community groups can apply for donations of paint from the Resene PaintWise program online at www.resene.co.nz/paintwise.htm or complete and return the Community Paint Registration Form available from Resene ColorShops.

Anyone keen to clean out cluttered garages and sheds can take unwanted paint and paint packaging to most Resene ColorShops during normal opening hours. A small charge applies to non Resene and trade returns:


Resene PaintWise Collection Centres (North Island):
Albany, Cnr Tawa Drive and Rosedale Road, Ph: (09) 414 6500
Basin Reserve (Wellington), 74 Cambridge Terrace. Ph: (04) 801 6219
Botany Downs, Unit 5, The Hub, 451 Ti Rakau Drive, Ph: (09) 272 5100
Cambridge, 32 Lake Street, Ph: (07) 823 0170
Feilding, 109 Kimbolton Road, Ph: (06) 323 8450
Gisborne, 386 Gladstone Road, Ph: (06) 868 4656
Hamilton, Cnr Anglesea, Hood and Knox Streets, Ph: 839-9975
Hastings, Cnr Southland Road and Eastbourne Street, Ph: (06) 878 4070
Henderson, 30 Paramount Drive, Ph: 836 2366
Kapiti, 112 Kapiti Road, Ph: (04) 296 1060
Kilbirnie, Cnr Tacy & Kemp Streets, Ph: (04) 387 2916
Levin, 94 Cambridge Street, Ph: (06) 368 4484
Lower Hutt, 465 High Street, Ph: (04) 570 0683
Manukau, Sharkey Street, Ph: 262 1705
Masterton, Cnr Queen and Renall Streets, Ph: (06) 377 2542
Mt Eden, 126 Valley Road, Ph: 623 3950


Mt Roskill, 72 Carr Road, Ph: 620 5714
Naenae, Cnr Naenae Road and Vogel Street, Ph: (04) 577 8155
Napier, 116 Taradale Road, Ph: (06) 843 1710
New Lynn, 24 Clark Street, Ph: 827 6877
New Plymouth, 132 Molesworth Street, Ph: (06) 759 8100
Newmarket, Cnr Crowhurst and Teed Streets, Ph: (09) 529 4760
Onehunga, 56 Princes Street, Ph: (09) 636 4105
Palmerston North, 217 Main Street, Ph: (06) 357 3052
Panmure, 45A Mt Wellington Highway, Ph: (09) 570 4235
Porirua, Lyttelton Ave, Ph: (04) 237 7954
Pukekohe, 54 Seddon Street, Ph: (09) 237 1022
Rotorua, 10 - 12 Old Taupo Road, Ph: (07) 348 1883
Silverdale, Cnr of Hibiscus Coast Highway and East Coast Road, Ph: 427 9560
Takanini, Cnr 228 Great South & Glenora Roads, Ph: 296 1959
Taupo, Totara Point Retail Centre off Spa Road, ph: (07) 378 1500
Tauranga, 47 Waihi Road, Ph: (07) 578 4169
Te Awamutu, Unit 1, Cnr Albert Park Drive and Cambridge Road, Ph: (07) 871 7020
Te Rapa, 593 Te Rapa Road, Ph: (07) 850 5472
Thorndon, 223 Thorndon Quay, Ph: (04) 471 1112
Upper Hutt, Cnr Fergusson Drive and Montgomery Crescent, Ph: (04) 526 4946
Wairau Park, 8 Croftfield Lane, Ph: 444 4387
Wanganui, 17 Wilson Street, Ph: (06) 348 0048
Warkworth, 29 Glenmore Drive, Ph: (09) 422 2150
Whangarei, 22 Reyburn Street, Ph: (09) 430 2199

Resene PaintWise Collection Centres (South Island):
Addington, 351 Selwyn Street, Ph: (03) 338 1312
Ashburton, 327 Burnett Street, Ph: (03) 307 6510
Blenheim, Cnr McArtney and Redwood Streets, Ph: (03) 577 9200
Dunedin, 172 Crawford Street, Ph: (03) 477 6566
Hornby, 278 Main South Road, Christchurch
Invercargill, Cnr Arena Avenue and Victoria Avenue, Ph: (03) 218 2385
Nelson, 69 St Vincent Street, Ph: (03) 548 7110
Northwood, Unit E3, Northwood Supa Centre, Main Road North, Ph: (03) 323 4492
Oamaru, 190 Thames Street, Ph: (03) 433 1211
Queenstown, 87 Gorge Road, Ph; (03) 442 4152
Shirley, 38 Marshland Road, Ph: (03) 385 5082
Timaru, 8 Elizabeth Street, Ph: (03) 688 4723
Tower Junction, Unit 8-9 Whiteleigh Ave, Ph: (03) 343 3990


In 2005, Resene PaintWise was awarded the ARC Environmental Business Leadership Award and a Packaging Council Award for Excellence for Environmentally Acceptable Packaging, and in 2008, it was awarded a Green Ribbon award. In recognition of Resene’s commitment to sustainability it was named the ‘Sustainable Business of the Year’ last year.