The environment and sustainability are talked about year on year, with the sense of urgency about the need to protect the planet for generations to come a key talking point around the world.
Reducing plastic waste plays an important role in this, and many people – including decorators – are increasingly calling on large businesses and manufacturers to play their part by reducing the waste they produce. At Crown Decorating Centres, as part of Crown Paints, this is something we’ve been actively striving to do for more than a decade since the launch of our earthbalance scheme.
Through our network of more than 150 stores as well as with the wider Crown Paints business, we’ve been able to put our environmental principles into practice: here are some of the key ways we’re playing our part in becoming an increasingly sustainable business.
The Can Back scheme
We’re incredibly proud of our Can Back scheme, which launched in 2013 and has seen 200 tonnes of paint cans recycled in the last 12 months alone.
The scheme, which operates from 120 of our stores, is open to all Crown Decorating Centres account holders and encourages decorators to return empty paint cans free of charge so they can be recycled. And this year we’re taking it to the next level: we’ll now be able to accept used cans from any paint manufacturer rather than only Crown Paints, as long as the cans are clean and dry when they’re handed over to us in store.
We’re hoping to see a big increase in how many cans we’re able to recycle and in turn, create an even bigger positive impact on the planet. We’ve even set ourselves the ambitious target of collecting and recycling every single can of paint sold through our network this year, and we hope you’ll support us with this goal.
Partnering with NIMTECH
The Can Back scheme is made possible through our partnership with NIMTECH, a social enterprise based at Crown Paints’ Darwen and Hull manufacturing facilities. It provides waste recovery and recycling services across our UK-wide network, and has been an integral part of the Can Back scheme since its launch eight years ago.
NIMTECH is able to recycle all of the clean cans returned to us by decorators, and it’s thanks to its capabilities that we’re able to extend the scheme this year to allow for the return of cans from other paint manufacturers.
The enterprise also aids our ‘Kick out the Can’ initiative, which was launched to tackle the issues caused by paint leftover from jobs – which would more than likely be wasted otherwise. As part of this initiative, NIMTECH assists our network with collecting surplus paint from decorators and redistributing this to worthy causes in the local community.
Packaging
The general public opinion on plastic and its long-term negative consequences for the planet is stronger than ever, and demands for businesses to reduce plastic waste continue to make the headlines.
We know that the decorating industry is no exception to this, which is why we’re proud to stock products from across Crown Paints’ product range which utilise its industry-leading packaging made from 100 per cent post-consumer waste (PCW) plastic.
Launched in 2018, Crown worked with leading packaging experts to launch this innovative paint packaging solution – an industry first which reduces the amount of reusable PCW destined for landfill. And what’s more, these cans can also be recycled through our Can Back scheme, bringing our steps towards sustainability full circle!
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