Amcor is enhancing its closed-loop recycled paint container initiative in the UK with the introduction of a new cleaning system designed to remove residual paint from empty cans before recycling.
The system forms part of the closed-loop project developed with waste paint reengineering specialist Paint360. First launched in 2022, the initiative provides a way for used paint cans to be recycled once most of the remaining paint has been removed. The recovered plastic is then used to manufacture new paint containers.
According to the British Coatings Federation (BCF), 98 per cent of leftover paint currently ends up in landfill, incineration or down the drain. Residual paint left in containers can also make them harder to recycle.
The cleaning stage is considered critical to the process because small amounts of paint often remain in containers after use. Paint360 has developed a new system that replaces the traditional washing method in order to reduce the environmental impact of this stage.
Lee Cole, managing director and co-founder of Paint360, said, “Since we first launched this scheme, we have been on a learning curve, identifying what works well and where there are areas for improvement."
“This is particularly important to enable further scalability of our project and the introduction of additional schemes," he said.
After cleaning, the plastic from the containers is shredded and reprocessed at the Amcor Circular Polymers facility in Leamington Spa, UK. New paint cans containing the recycled material are then manufactured at Amcor’s Oakham facility in the UK.
Mark Roberts, director of materials innovation at Amcor, said, “This project is helping to achieve circularity for one of the hardest-to-recycle packs, turning waste paint and used containers into new paint and new packaging."
“With this advanced cleaning system in place, we are able to achieve a consistently higher standard of recycled plastic," he said.
The initiative is supported by the BCF’s PaintCare programme, which aims to create a circular economy for leftover decorative paint in the UK and increase the re-use or re-manufacture rate to 75 per cent by 2031.
