environment magazine

It’s not easy being green but environmentally commercially aware is?

By Peter Davys, Orrest

Nothing has changed in the past 30 Years with regard to waste paint. Starting my career, an  apprenticeship  gave the chance to gain firsthand  experience of waste paint  in industry from a very early start .

In 1981  I was fortunate to start a career that would springboard to greater things. Now the owner and Managing Director of  Manchester-based Orrest Business Solutions,  established in 2004, I’m now in a position to use the skills gained during my  apprenticeship to really make a difference and I  now realise that everything is possible if you surround yourself with the right minded people.

It’s  ironic that the New Coalition is now recognising and putting weight  behind apprenticeships  30 years later. 

Proskills, the Skills council for the process and manufacturing sector, in collaboration with the British Coatings Federation, the GQA(Qualifications awarding body), Hull college and Orrest have recently  produced  a new coatings apprenticeship fit for the future world of work. I always believed that an apprenticeship offers a clear route into industry, and for those with the drive and ambition  could lead on to senior positions and even owning their own company.

While a University education has traditionally been thought of as the passport to a good job,  I always believed an apprenticeship can lead to a fulfilling, varied career. The transition from education to work is a difficult time for many students, particularly school leavers with their whole career in front of them, and they struggle to adjust to new demands. The apprenticeship  gave me the foundation to learn about new areas and combined with a  business studies/marketing degree , before taking an Open University course in Management,  it made me overcome my  fear of education and  made me realise you don’t need to know everything immediately, that learning is an ongoing process.

By offering the chance to earn and learn at the same time, my apprenticeship  helped  me to adapt gradually to the  world of work and develop  professional skills within a framework that gave reassurance, guidance and security. It also heightened my awareness of the major challenges facing the industry coupled with having  amazing mentors, and people that I admired also  helped me on my way and left me with no fear of pushing the boundaries to make a difference.

Knowing that each year we historically  throw 40M litres of DIY and 2.5M litres of trade paint into landfill and washing a simple roller can use 30-100 litres of water, and contaminate/pollute  millions of lts of water and this situation wouldn’t continue if embarked on finding  novel  solutions.

Capturing household paint left over’s (that could be supplied to community projects), exploring  the packaging being used and removing excessive volumes of waste solvent used for cleaning in the production process seemed to be the obvious way forward .

Solvent regeneration

Knowing how difficult it is to engage all parties in the decision process I embarked on finding a machine that would meet the following criteria:

• Easy to install and automatic process
• Zero maintenance
• fabricated in stainless steel
• Low running costs electricity and cooling
• High quality recovered solvent that can be used again Direct heat 
• Guaranteed 6 month return on investment

I researched the market place and started working with Eco Dec, a privately owned Belgium manufacturer with an owner with a real ‘can do’ attitude.  Below is an example of one of the many success stories to date.  

John Wordsworth and David Bacon (pictured left) proudly commissioned a 150-litre Eco Dec solvent regenerator at their production facility in Sheffield. Since installation significant savings have already been realised. The Eco-Dec solvent recyclers are recognised as market-leaders in this field due to the range of available sizes, their adaptability and their proven success. With a range of sizes to suit differing needs, the regenerators have proven themselves in a number of industries including automotive, chemical, printing and furniture manufacturing sectors. John comments after the first trial “It does what it says in the literature”.

Packaging options

The packaging used for paints and coatings has always been a huge headache having to meet all the necessary rules/ regulations and obligations of the associated parties in the supply chain.

I researched the market place and started working with Neorelva metal and plastic packaging, a privately owned Portuguese family business that appeared to be cooperative, flexible, dynamic and innovative, and I wasn’t disappointed. Their ability to listen to what the customer needs and respond quickly is a real refreshing change.

We have worked with numerous clients on projects  where the customer has been able to realise real savings in C02, material, water and waste diverted from landfill, and as a result secured jobs and also created new ones.

The manufacturing  sites are continually adapting the best practice on offer from the industry and the owners are investing in new technology to close the loop and reduce emissions especially in the printing process. Two recent examples of this is the commissioning of an IML-In mould labelling line where IML printing is carried out in the injection process, and secondly the installation of an offset UV production line. Both are examples of innovation and the commitment to change which results in a reduction of VOC.

Where possible scrap is also reprocessed on site. There is a commitment to do more and the recent announcement that  Toom Baumarkt (REWE Group), one of the leading German DIY-companies, has started offering the first paint bucket which is made almost entirely from recycled plastic will help make it easier to adopt new raw materials in the future.This is a further example where partnership works. They have teamed up with  leading European paint manufacturer J.W. Ostendorf and the recycling professionals from Interseroh Toom is the first to offer a product that has been manufactured almost entirely from "domestic recycling" and offers the same material properties as products made from primary resources. In total more than 320 Toom stores across Germany Toom  Baumarkt will market the paint bucket.  Things are changing  Detlef Riesche, toom Baumarkt's Managing Director responsible for sustainability, is passionate about  sustainability and recognises  packaging made from 100 per cent recycled plastic is the next logical step.

The most interesting fact about the substance procyclen is that it has been manufactured almost entirely from old plastic taken from household recycling bins. This is the very reason why recycled plastics had until now been only used for technically less demanding products. Consistent quality and availability were up to now eliminating factors for recycled plastic. With this innovative process it is now possible to achieve more robust products, now plastic manufacturers do not need to  shy away from recycled plastic because of the guaranteed high quality standards of procyclen, particularly in terms of technical material properties with high security of supply and stable prices.

Paint left overs

The environmental impact of waste paint is increasingly becoming a global concern. Paint is considered a difficult waste due to its liquid properties and it may also contain solvents that can lead to groundwater and surface water pollution. Over 300 million litres of decorative paint is sold in the UK every year. A staggering 15% remains unused as consumers purchase too much and then 5 years later ultimately put it into house hold waste or it ends up at household waste reclamation centres.

There are many social enterprises and commercial organisations now recognising this problem. Two examples are Seagulls Reuse(the pioneers need to be financed)

The social enterprise that has pioneered reuse of paint, set up in 2007, Seagulls collect leftover, unwanted paint from 4 household waste reclamation sites across Leeds. This started off as an informal arrangement but after a successful tendering process they have secured a formal contract which was the first of its kind for a social enterprise in Leeds.

Having proven the concept works the dedicated team deserve a huge pat on the back and continue to attract media attention for all their hard work and pioneering efforts. After the paint is sorted, mixed, logged and put on shelves ready for distribution in the depot it is accessible to those who need it most. Anyone can come and access paint for a small donation from as little as 50p per litre. The minimal cost ensures that even people on a low or no income can afford to paint their home(something we all take for granted). Personally working with the team over the years at different times it’s been very rewarding to see how making even a small contribution or raising the profile of their activities can have such an amazing impact on so many lives.

Going forward the Seagulls blue print will be rolled out to other councils around the country and several social enterprises and charities  currently  collecting other waste streams for reuse  are being encouraged to get involved as their core services become main stream and they need to diversify. This isn’t green wash, its real.

The second example is Newlife Paints set up in 2008 by Keith Harrison who recognised the issue of waste emulsion paints. Over a period of time he’s now set up a batch production facility in Hampshire and due to a change in the regulations by the Environmental Agency  to agree that recycling emulsion paint is a low risk activity, they can now treat up to five tonnes a week of non-hazardous paint for re use as full specification paint.

All the above demonstrates that through innovation, collaboration and the enthusiasm of a few and the tenacity of some in partnership and engagement of business, bottom-line results can transform the fortunes of many.

For further  information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. "> This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.orrest.com tel 0161 799 0592