SmartCrete CRC’s CEO, Dr Warren South announced to the public on Thursday last week that he and his team are “pleased to welcome Paintback Limited as a core partner organisation,” as both companies work together to find new ways to repurpose leftover product and incoorporate it into concrete.

Paintback Limited is a relatively new company that was established in 2016 by Dulux, Haymes, PPG, Resene and Wattyl, (some of the most popular paint suppliers in Australia) to divert unwanted paint and packaging from ending up in landfills and vital waterways. Along with disposing of unwanted paint responsibly, Paintback is committed to researching and developing new ways to repurpose unwanted paint materials and help transition to a circular economy.

Paintback says that paint already plays a role in circular economic outcomes through preserving and refurbishing infrastructure and they plan on exploring how they can extend that through putting unwanted paint into new uses.

From utilising recovered paint products on pedestrian footpaths to researching testing paint components as new additions to concrete, the national paint recovery scheme Paintback and alliances of Australian scientists and engineers are constantly searching for new ways to extend the circular economy for paint. “Australians buy more than 100 million litres of paint every year. About 5% of that is surplus to requirements and needs a safe disposal path. The SmartCrete partnership will help harness innovation to create more sustainable infrastructure while extending the life of unwanted paint” said Karen Gomez, Paintback’s chief executive.

Dr South said in his most recent media release that “Partners such as Paintback will assist us in developing our research portfolio to inform the future sustainability of concrete infrastructure,” as he welcomes the new partnership.