Getting involved in Recycling Week 2025

16 Oct 2025

Recycling Week runs from 20 – 26 October 2025 and there are many ways you can get involved. This annual initiative raises awareness and teaches Kiwis the best practices for waste minimisation and recycling, and all the ways we can look to protect our planet for future generations.

Launched in 2013, an ever-increasing number of organisations (schools, corporates and everyone in between) are having fun and learning by taking part in Recycling Week. 

2025’s theme is about identifying opportunities. Thinking about how to avoid, reduce, repair or reuse waste, not just recycling. In regards to paint, making sure you don’t have all those awkward bits left over can be a start. Before you order your paint, try out Resene’s Paint Calculator to make sure you’ve got just what you need.

We know sometimes though, as hard as you try, waste is inevitable. But that doesn’t mean it should go in to landfills. Here are some ways you can recycle leftover and old paint:

Resene PaintWise

More than six litres of household paint is sold each year for each and every person here. That's a lot of paint particularly as much of it is left sitting in paint containers and ends up in landfills. There are lots of ways you can reduce this burden on the environment... here's some ideas to get you started:

Resene donates recycled paint, known as EchoPaint, to community groups for their activities. If you’re part of a community group that needs paint, click here to find out more and apply. 

Be PaintWise! Bring unwanted paint and paint containers into your local Resene ColorShop and let us recycle or dispose of them responsibly. Resene will offer good quality Resene paint to community groups for reuse, recycle packaging materials that are recyclable, send solventborne paints to solvent recovery, find alternative uses for waterborne paints, such as graffiti abatement, and dispose of the rest for you.

Heads Up for Kids 

Still finding old and foreign coins in your purse, pockets or couch? Bring them into any Resene ColorShop and help bring amazing opportunities to Kiwi kids. 

Heads Up for Kids is a charity that collects obsolete money, redeeming it for New Zealand dollars and funding education programmes for young Kiwis who would otherwise not get the opportunity. 

Since 2010, the Lions Club NZ has run Heads Up for Kids, helping more than 100 kids to become involved in leadership opportunities, including scholarships to Spirit of Adventure and Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centres.

You can donate by simply taking in your old money and foreign currency to any Resene ColorShop and anywhere you see a Heads Up for Kids collection tin.

Kan Tabs for Kidney Kids 

Hope in a Can. The Lions Club of New Zealand introduced the Kan Tabs program to support Kidney Kids by gathering can tabs. To expand its reach, they partnered with Resene and NCI to distribute 4-litre cans as collection points at locations across New Zealand.

Kidney Kids, established in 1990, aids parents of children with kidney disorders through resources, annual camps and support meetings with specialists. By placing your 'Kan Tabs' in these designated cans, you make a significant impact on a Kidney Kid's life, offering them moments of hope and support. Each tab represents a second of hope for children awaiting dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Collect tabs, recycle them, and the funds raised go to Kidney Kids Support Group in New Zealand. Help spread hope by collecting tabs and donating them to your local Lions Club, contributing to the well-being of children with kidney disease. The more tabs collected, the more support we can provide to Kidney Kids.

If you want to collect Kan Tabs at home simply collect in a clean ice-cream container or bag and pass onto the local Lions contact. Or if you have a business, you can order a Resene Kan Tabs collection to help collect in kan tabs online.

Let’s all pitch in this Recycling Week and work towards a waste free future. Even small actions can make a big difference!

Published: 16 Oct 2025