It's been 10 years since the Resene PaintWise recycling programme began and remains the only paint product stewardship programme accredited by the Ministry for the Environment.

Thanks to the support of a huge number of decorators, over 2 million packs have been collected.  That means over 400,000kg of steel has been recycled and over 200,000kg of plastic.  Over 500,000 litres of solventborne paint has been sent to solvent recovery and over 190,000 litres of paint has been donated to cover graffiti and for other community projects.

To make it easier for decorators to deal with decorating wastes, empty Resene pails can be returned free of charge to any Resene ColorShop that accepts PaintWise.  The service also now accepts used thinners and turps (small return charges apply).

Resene PaintWise Accepts:

• All brands of waterborne paints. Must be in original labelled/printed packaging (rusty packaging is acceptable).
• All brands of solventborne paints. Must be in original labelled/printed packaging (rusty packaging is acceptable).
• All protective coatings and hardeners produced by Resene or Resene Group companies (Altex, Resene, Rockcote/PSL).
• All polyurethanes.
• All textured coatings produced by Resene or Resene Group companies (Altex, Resene, Rockcote/PSL).
• All mineral turps, paint thinners, raw or boiled linseed oil, tung oil, methylated spirits and solventborne brush cleaners. The solvents can be ‘dirty’ i.e. they have been used for cleaning, but must be in their original identifiable container for safety reasons.
• All Resene empty tinter cans. Maximum pack size is 20 litres. Original labelled/printed packaging is still accepted if rusty provided it is in the original packaging and the contents match the packaging.

Resene PaintWise Does Not Accept:

• Acids of any kind.
• Protective coatings and hardeners produced by companies other than Resene or Resene Group Companies (Altex, Resene, Rockcote/PSL).
• Wallpapering or tiling materials, glues, pastes, grouting, sealants, adhesives, etc.
• Any paint not in original labelled packaging (i.e. no paint in glass jars, no paint in non-paint cans.
• Aerosol/spray cans.
• Plastering products e.g. GIB, compounds etc.
• Road coatings or flint coatings.
• Textured coatings produced by companies other than Resene or Resene Group Companies (Altex, Resene, Rockcote/PSL).
• Pack sizes over 20 litres.

Most Resene ColorShops can accept PaintWise returns.