**Grant Puts Gloss on Cambridgeshire Paint Recycling Enterprise with £400,000 Lottery Boost**
**Cambridge, Cambridgeshire** – A Cambridgeshire social enterprise dedicated to diverting paint from landfill and repurposing it for community use has been awarded a significant grant of £400,000 by the National Lottery to help it expand its vital operations.
ReColour Cambridgeshire, which collects leftover paint from households and businesses across the region, processes it into high-quality, affordable paint for resale to charities, community groups, and low-income families, welcomed the news as a “game-changer.”
“This is an absolute game-changer for us and for the environment,” exclaimed Grant Williams, founder and CEO of ReColour Cambridgeshire. “We’ve been working tirelessly to tackle paint waste and provide sustainable, affordable solutions to our community. This incredible National Lottery funding will allow us to scale our impact in ways we’ve only dreamed of, reaching more people and preventing even more paint from going to waste.”
Each year, millions of litres of perfectly good paint are thrown away across the UK, contributing to environmental pollution and wasting valuable resources. ReColour Cambridgeshire intercepts this waste stream, giving paint a second life while providing employment opportunities and affordable products.
The £400,000 grant, awarded through the National Lottery Community Fund, will be instrumental in several key areas. Plans include the acquisition of a larger processing facility, investing in new machinery to increase efficiency, expanding their fleet of collection vehicles, and creating up to ten new job roles, including positions for individuals facing barriers to employment. The expansion will also enable ReColour Cambridgeshire to broaden its collection network across the wider region and significantly increase its output of recycled paint.
Beyond the obvious environmental benefits of reducing landfill waste and associated carbon emissions, the enterprise offers affordable paint to local charities, schools, and community groups, helping them to brighten spaces at a fraction of the cost. Last year alone, ReColour Cambridgeshire diverted over 50,000 litres of paint from waste streams, a figure they aim to triple within the next three years with the new funding.
A spokesperson for the National Lottery Community Fund commented, “ReColour Cambridgeshire embodies the spirit of social enterprise – tackling a pressing environmental issue while delivering tangible benefits to the local community. We were hugely impressed by their vision and dedication, and we are confident this grant will empower them to make an even greater difference across Cambridgeshire and beyond.”
Williams added, “Our goal is not just to recycle paint, but to foster a more sustainable and vibrant community. This grant is a huge step towards achieving that, allowing us to build stronger partnerships and reach more people who can benefit from our services, whether they’re donating paint or purchasing it.”
ReColour Cambridgeshire encourages local residents and businesses to visit their website or contact them directly for information on how to donate leftover paint responsibly.
