Paintback® is taking unwanted paint and packaging’s colourful past to a brighter future of responsible disposal and innovative reuse. Paintback, established in 2016, is an industry-led initiative designed to divert unwanted paint and packaging from ending up in landfill and vital waterways.
Paintback is driven by the Australian paint industry and the major companies that supply around 95% of all the architectural and decorative (A&D) paint sold in Australia. Paintback’s founding members are Dulux, Haymes, PPG, Resene and Valspar.
Paintback is an independent not-for-profit organisation which is funded through a 15 cents plus GST per litre levy on eligible products*, between 1 litre and 20 litres inclusive.
Along with disposing of waste paint responsibly, Paintback is committed to researching new ways to repurpose unwanted paint materials.
What products are accepted and how much can I return?
Paintback accepts a maximum of 100 litres in volume per visit. This must be carried in secured containers no larger than 20 litres.
Search Paintback site locator.
The following list outlines all eligible products and products not accepted by Paintback:-
What happens to the paint and packaging?
Households and trade painters take their unwanted paint and packaging to a Paintback site.
The waste paint and packaging is stored at the collection point ready for Paintback to pick it up.
Paintback transports it from the collection point for treatment. Subject to contamination, the containers are recycled. Waste paint is treated in a number of ways including energy recovery and liquid/solid separation for water-based paint, minimising landfill over alternative practices.
With more than 165 drop-off locations across Australia, Paintback has collected and treated over 45 million kilograms of unwanted paint and packaging.
