Inside Out: Paint power and candle magic

Cast your eye over home and interiors picks to brighten up your life and your living space this week 

Ruth Bullough, Cycle Sense, Lilly Higgins, Ambassador for Revive Paint and tara Mullhall, Master Mixer Revive Paint launching Revive Paint, a circular economy initiative by Northside Community Enterprise, Cork City and Cycle Sense, Skibbereen. Picture: Darragh Kane

PAINT POWER

October was National Reuse Month, and to help us play our part, Cork County Council and Cork City Council launched a circular economy initiative called Revive Paint, which involves the production of good quality, affordable paint by two Cork-based social enterprises using paint that they collect from local authority civic amenity sites.

The social enterprises involved are Northside Community Enterprise (NCE) in Farranferris, Cork City, and Cycle Sense, which is based in Skibbereen.

The Revive Paint initiative, which is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Local Authority Prevention Network, tackles a significant problem waste stream in Ireland.

In Cork city and county, up to 190 tonnes of paint are collected at civic amenity sites each year and these are generally exported for treatment — at a cost to both councils and, potentially, to the environment.

Tara Mullhall, Master Mixer Revive Paint, Lord Mayor Cllr Colm Kelleher, Lilly Higgins, Revive Paint Ambassador, Mayor of Cork County Cllr Gillian Coughlan and Ruth Bullough, Cycle Sense launching Revive Paint. Picture: Darragh Kane

Approximately 60% of this waste paint is water-based, much of which could be reused and upcycled through Revive Paint.

The EPA funding has allowed the set-up of a paint reuse and upcycling system in each social enterprise as well as training for staff.

Each of the enterprises is now experienced in filtering, remixing, recolouring, and repackaging the paint, and are producing high-quality paint to sell within their local communities.

Since production began in June, the two social enterprises have diverted over 2.5 tonnes of paint from the waste stream to produce quality paint.

The Mayor of the County of Cork, Fianna Fáil councillor Gillian Coughlan, encouraged the public to embrace the campaign.

“Our parents and grandparents had a very practical approach to waste,” she said. “They constantly looked at reusing things rather than throwing them away.

“Cycle Sense in Skibbereen is a wonderful role model as we rethink our attitude towards waste to protect our environment for future generations. As part of Revive Paint, both Cycle Sense and NCE are taking a waste product and restoring it into something beautiful that can be used in our homes and businesses. They are saving people money and helping the environment.” 

The water-based paint is available in a variety of colours and can be purchased through the NCE in Cork City and Cycle Sense in West Cork. For more information visit www.nce.ie or www.cyclesense.ie.

Peppermint Grove offers scented candles and home fragrances inspired by Australia.

MAKING SCENTS

Australian favourite Peppermint Grove has recently become available in Ireland.

Their candles and other home fragrances not only scent rooms beautifully, but all candles within the range are eco-friendly too.

All candles are made with natural soy wax.

Soy is a naturally sourced ingredient and, without the addition of synthetic chemicals, these candles are considered better for you and the environment.

Peppermint Grove Lemongrass & Lime soy candle.

They are also vegan and, as their scent comes from essential oils, it is a purer blend, meaning these candles deliver a longer-lasting fragrance.

The lead-free wicks also lend themselves to a longer, cleaner, environmentally friendly burn.

Each candle is hand-poured into a custom-designed highly polished, bevelled glass that can be re-purposed.

The candles also feature custom-designed polished lids that act as protective barriers for your surfaces.

Each lid can be re-purposed as a drinks coaster once you are finished with the candle.

The 350g candles have a burn time of up to 80 hours, while the 200g candles will burn for up to 50 hours, and 60g for up to 15 hours.

All products are paraben-free and do not contain any animal-derived products. All the outer packaging is fully recyclable.

Each fragrance from the Peppermint Grove range has been carefully created to encapsulate a unique part of the beautiful and immense Australian landscape. Peppermint Grove is available from pharmacies and interiors stores nationwide or at www.peppermintgrove.ie.