Housing group turns old paint tins into furniture

Old metal and plastic containers are recycled to make tools and garden benches

EMPTY paint containers are being given a colourful new lease of life by Magna Housing Association - they are being recycled into play equipment and benches.

Magna gets through around 12,000 litres of paint each year, as its decorators revamp homes and communal areas across East Devon and West Dorset.

And rather than dump the empty tins at landfill sites, Magna, which owns and manages more than 6,000 homes, has signed up to the Dulux can recycling service.

The paint tins are collected and then reprocessed. Plastic cans are used to make things like garden furniture, while metal tins can be recycled into tools.

Head of building services, Trea Murphy said: “Magna is committed to sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint. This is just one of the ways we can do our bit to help the environment.”

The idea came from Magna’s stores team. They wanted to find a way to reduce the company’s impact on the environment and save money on disposing of the thousands of paint tins that build up every year.

Magna is also involved at the other end of the recycling circle.

Ken Bodycombe, Magna’s community development manager, said: “We have installed a number of benches in the area which are made from recycled plastic. They’re quite expensive – about �650 – but they last a long time because they’re so strong. They also don’t need any maintenance.”