Feature
Get Ready To ReLov By COLM O’CONNOR
The reloving procedure starts with Revamp collecting used water based paints from the civic amenity sites in Kanturk and Millstreet. Then we bring them back to our new paint workshop where the mixing process takes place, a tuition on the mixing process was delivered by The Rediscovery Centre in Dublin through training days both in Dublin and here in revamp. We then put it into 5 litre buckets and sell it in our retail area for €15 per bucket. There is potential for the integration of circular principles into almost every aspect of production and consumption, and the Relove Paint example demonstrates that delivering a circular economy can have positive environmental, economic, and social impact on our local area. IRD Duhallow are leading the way in promoting the circular economy in our rural community. There is a long way to go, and large business and industry has a huge role to play in terms of product design, green procurement, and minimising waste. That said, we cannot underestimate the part that we all can play in driving the shift to a circular economy through our own choices and demands for sustainable services and products. Our enterprise is now up and running and is fully experienced in filtering, remixing, recolouring and
repackaging the paint, and will be producing a high-quality paint to sell within our local communities. Paints are collected at civic amenity sites annually and are generally exported for treatment – at a cost to both councils and potentially to the environment. Approximately 60% of this waste paint is water based, much of which could be reused and upcycled. The Paint initiative, which is part funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Local Authority through Paint recycling. The EPA funding has allowed for some set-up costs, of a paint reuse and upcycling system in our social enterprise as well as the training of staff. As well as helping to protect our environment by using paint from this project in your homes and businesses, you will be supporting our social enterprises who epitomize the circular economy at its very best. IRD Duhallow Furniture Revamp will also deliver for the local economy in terms of job creation and reducing the costs for individuals, community groups and businesses who are using the paint. Along with IRD Duhallow Furniture Revamp putting 200 ton of recycled furniture into the circular economy in the Duhallow region ReLove paint is a great example of circular production, which will be a real-life circular economy initiative that delivers environmentally, socially and
economically in the Duhallow region. Paint is a problem waste stream in Ireland. In Cork city and county, up to 190 ton of waste paint is collected at local authority civic amenity sites annually and is generally exported for treatment at a cost to both councils but also potentially to the environment. We would like to thank everyone who helped us during the setting up process including the other social enterprises involved and all at Cork county council environmental dept. including Michelle Green, and Thomas O Shea manager of Millstreet and Kanturk Civic amenity sites.
We have recently agreed with Cork County Council to give some Relove Paint free to return we will be asking them for feedback and promotion through their social medi paint available for community groups, so we would ask inter revamp@irdduhallow.com 14
DiscoverDuhallow@irdduhallow.com
Issue 65 June 3rd, 2022
