Paint Tin Recycling (empty or partially used)

Now as you know (or should know) you can’t just send paint tins to the tip nor try and sneak them in your kerbside rubbish collection. They do need to be disposed of safely and landfill is not the destination – but Resene is!

We have a large garage, which is essential for us: we have so many DIY projects on the go at any one time; it houses my props cupboard (which I will show you sometime); is home for ‘stuff’ for the backyard…and until last week, stored a HUGE amount of paint tins that had been stockpiled over the years.

We counted scores of empty or partially empty 4-10 litre pails from several houses back, some we inherited more when we bought our home two years ago, and others we have accumulated since. As you can envisage, with painting several houses over the years (inside and out), garage, roof, fence and craft paint – it’s not difficult to compile a near out-of-control stockpile!

We loaded 60+ tins into the van and easily have another 40+ at home which we aren’t ready to part with yet!

Things to know about recycling old paint tins

Surcharge

Updated Post [2024]: Neil in the comments has provided an update on surcharge fees which reflects a significant increase! “The Resene Paintwise levy is now 25c/litre on Resene product in areas where the Paintwise programme operates (no levy elsewhere), return empty Resene tins for free. Empty non-Resene tins incur a charge – $5/tin under 4 litres and $10/tin over 4 litre size.” Cheers Neil, thanks.

Original Post [2019]: If you buy Resene paints there is an automatic surcharge on every paint purchase – 15c per litre in fact, which you will see on your receipt. So, when you take back your paint tin when you are done it’s ‘free’ (although the pre-paid surcharge takes care of that). They will take other brands of paint for 25c per litre (of original paint packaging size, not whatever you have left).

Free Paint for Community Groups

Resene’s PaintWise recycling scheme is great. They repurpose good Resene paint for charity use, known as Resene EchoPaint. The Resene PaintWise program is managed by the Resene Foundation, a non-profit charitable trust, and all levies and fees are paid to the Foundation.

You can apply for free paint if you aren’t so precious about the colour. Remember folks, this is free paint – be very grateful, it costs a bundle new. This is great for community groups! If you wish to apply for free paint, as with many things in life, there is a criteria and the final decision lies with Resene Foundation as to who the recipients will be.

Recycled Packaging

Metal tins and plastic pails are recycled.  Resene sorts out the solids from the liquids and recycles that, or disposes of that, responsibly for you.

Drop Off Points

Now, not every Resene shop is a collection shop, nor do they accept ‘everything in a tin’ so don’t load the van up just yet.

There are over 50 drop off points all over New Zealand that accept paint tins during office hours. Other stores do not have the facilities to handle and store the paint safely. There is a limit of 25 tins per person and do allow some time for staff to open each tin before accepting.  Find a Resene Collection store near you.

There is an online list of acceptable and non-acceptable substances, so be sure to check it out. Note: plastic test pots are also not accepted: cleaned they can be disposed of through your regular recycling channels.

Happy painting, or should I say ‘happy paint recycling’!

#notsponsored