Crown Paints is to become the first paint manufacturer in the UK to launch paint plastic containers made from 100% recycled plastic. The plastic 2.5 litre and 5 litre containers, which will be available across Crown Paints’ retail range as early as mid-August, have been manufactured by packaging solutions expert Emballator, using 100% post-consumer waste (PCW) plastic for each container.

By separating polypropylene plastics such as shampoo bottles, yoghurt pots, plastic water bottles and even elements from household appliances from unusable plastic waste, this innovative manufacturing process saves thousands of tonnes of PCW plastic from otherwise ending up in landfill. Once sorted, the PCW plastic is turned into individual pellets which are then dyed and moulded to create Crown’s 2.5 litre and 5 litre paint containers, with the dark grey shade making them instantly recognisable to consumers.

“We’ve invested a great deal in creating this innovative new packaging and have worked closely with the Emballator team to create a product which is made entirely from recycled plastic. This marks a significant improvement to the plastic paint containers manufactured from 25% recycled plastic which are currently available in the UK,” said Julie Entwistle, packaging buyer at Crown Paints.

The paint containers, which will soon be rolled out across the entire Crown Paints range including its larger 10 litre tubs and Crown Trade products, are also fully recyclable once empty and clean. With such sustainability credentials, the new paint cans are the ideal choice for today’s environmentally conscious consumers.

“Plastic paint can producers have been striving to break the 25% recycled level for many years and to reach the 100% level is a great achievement. The technical requirements of these containers were very challenging but we succeeded by working in co-operation with leading plastic recycler ImerPlast, whose innovative and unique compatibilization of the post-consumer waste made this project feasible.”

Expected to roll off next month, Crown Paints’ production lines will soon be available in retail outlets and stockists across the UK. Crown is continuing to work with Emballator to create new packaging solutions for the entire Crown family of products including Crown Trade, Sadolin and Sandtex.