In recognition of Crown Paints’ partnership with housing association, L&Q, the leading paint manufacturer has donated a park bench, manufactured entirely from recycled plastic paint containers, to the residents of William Wood House residential care home on Shrublands Close, Sydenham in London.
Glyn Dodds, specification consultant at Crown Paints, comments: “The bench is a symbol of the positive relationship we have enjoyed and continue to enjoy with L&Q. The bench is our gift to the local community, and also reflects our commitment to maximise the sustainability of our business practices and reduce the impact of our products on the environment.”
The ‘can to bench’ transformation is part of a wider ‘can-back’ pilot recycling scheme, where used paint containers are collected at selected Crown decorating centres and then either reused or fed back into the supply chain for the production of new products.
Crown Paints has worked in partnership with L&Q and painting contractor, Seddon Property Services to establish planned maintenance programmes for around 3,000 homes. Helping L&Q to deliver a safe and high standard of accommodation for its residents, Crown Paints developed bespoke painting schedules, including detailed specifications for exterior and internal communal areas. Coatings specified by Crown Paints have been designed to deliver durable and long-term performance in order to protect housing stock and extend maintenance cycles. The use of Timonox flame-retardant paints for internal communal areas such as entrance areas, corridors and stairwells, has also helped L&Q to ensure that its property complies with current fire safety laws.
In addition, Crown Paints provides on-going technical advice and support to the association’s property services team via monthly meetings and workshops. During these meetings, Crown Paints provides updates on new products and initiatives within the company, and advises on current and emerging legislation in the social housing sector. The new bench at William Wood House marks the continuing success of Crown Paints’ partnership with L&Q and Seddon Property Services.
Ross McCartney, head of asset management at L&Q, explains: “Our monthly meetings with Crown Paints have helped us to ensure we’re delivering value for money and the best possible service to our residents.”
Crown Paints has taken positive steps to reduce the impact of all aspects of its business on the environment and has established a company-wide sustainability initiative called earthbalance®. Designed to take a holistic and coherent approach to sustainability, earthbalance considers the full product lifecycle in the context of three key areas: resources, climate and people. The ‘can-back’ recycling scheme is one of a number of innovative earthbalance projects aimed at helping Crown Paints to improve the environmental credentials of its products.