Picture showing four buckets with paint residues collected for reuse
Water-based paint for reuse Photo: Troels Eriksen

Partnership for reuse of paint - Paint it Forward

Every year tonnes of water-based paint residues end up in the waste stream in Copenhagen. Could some of it be reused in local projects?

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The city of Copenhagen has the ambition of increasing direct reuse of resources in 2024 by 3 times the reuse level in 2016.
Through the work of implementing its waste and resource management plan 2024, the city of Copenhagen has become aware of the possibility of reusing water-based paint. Therefore, the city of Copenhagen has partnered with the organization Paint it Forward to test the feasibility of reusing collected residues of water-based paint from the city’s recycling stations.

Paint it Forward is a socio-economic initiative based in Copenhagen. Paint It Forward organises monthly distribution events, where less well-off citizens, artists, and local organisations are given free paint for their projects.

The partnership conducted the first collection and redistribution tests from a selected municipal recycling station from November 2021 to spring 2022. Depending on the results, the aim is to expand the partnership and optimize the reuse of water-based paint residues in Copenhagen (and possibly in other cities).

Please contact us if you wish to know more or join the partnership.