Crown Decorating Centres extend sustainability scheme

The industry leading sustainability scheme, Kick Out the Can, which offers people the chance to recycle and repurpose paint through Crown Paints’ national network of Crown Decorating Centres, has been extended until the end of May, due to record results.  

Since returning on 2 May, the scheme, which allows homeowners to bring unwanted paint cans of any colour or paint brand to any of the 148 Crown Decorating Centres (CDCs), has so far seen 69,684 cans returned across the country, over three times as many as the number returned last year. 

As an incentive for taking part, customers who return cans to store will be entered into a competition to win a room makeover worth over £150. 

The paint returned is processed and reworked by Crowns Paints social enterprise partner, NIMTECH, and donated to brighten charity, school and other community projects across the UK. The cans are recycled as part of the ongoing Crown Can Back scheme which recycles tonnes of plastic, metal and paper each year.  

Unlike with the hugely popular Crown Can Back initiative, which allows trade customers to return empty cans all year round, CDCs can accept cans from customers that contain any amount of paint as part of the Kick Out the Can event, which takes place annually. The scheme is open to retail customers only. 

In 2021, a total of 23,853 cans were returned as part of the scheme, benefitting a wide variety of community projects across multiple regions. These included: 

 – a donation to Preston Prison which used their paint to conduct decorator training 

 – Hull and East Yorkshire MIND, the mental health charity, which created a new office wellbeing space for its staff with its paint donation 

 – St Mary Magdelen’s School in Accrington which gave its playground a brand-new splash of colour. 

From a base at Crown Paints’ headquarters in Darwen, Lancashire, NIMTECH provides waste recovery and recycling services to the whole of the organisation’s UK operations, including the Can Back and Kick Out the Can schemes. 

The Kick Out the Can initiative, which was first launched in 2012, is part of Crown Paints’ ambition to become an increasingly sustainable business.  

Naiem Wafa, Director at Crown Decorating Centres, says: “We’re so pleased to have seen such a positive start to Kick Out the Can this year, which is a great initiative to help our customers and local communities to be more sustainable, whilst bringing colour to towns across the UK. 

“With the scheme extended until the end of the month, it’s an unmissable opportunity for homeowners and DIYers to clear out their sheds and garages and get rid of unwanted cans – regardless of whether they are full, half full or empty. 

“We’re proud to be the only paint manufacturer offering this type of scheme in the UK and look forward extending our record over the coming week.” 

Crown Trade,
PO Box 37,
Hollins Road,
Darwen,
BB3 0BG,
United Kingdom,

Phone 0330 0240310
Fax 01254 774414

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