Environmental Sustainability

At The Painting Professionals the key materials we use day-to-day include Primers, Paint, Paintbrushes, Surface Protection, and PPE. All of the products that we promote are from like-minded companies dedicated to sustainability, environmentally friendly products, and ethically sourced raw materials.

We use VOC-free and low VOC paint as standard, unless otherwise specified and actively pursue the most eco-friendly and sustainable paint products.

We use and promote the use of eco-friendly paints, natural paints, and mineral-based paints and strive to find the best performing options for our customers.

We encourage customers to consider mineral-based products as alternatives to conventional exterior painting methods.

Conventional solvent and oil-based paints have been dropped in favour of water-based alternatives.

PPE, tools, and surface protection will be recyclable and made to last.

Future initiatives

As part of our commitment to improve sustainability, all future materials will be made from renewable raw materials where possible, all PPE will be made from organic and renewable raw materials. We are also phasing out use of petrol-powered machinery and transitioning to electric and low emission vehicles.

In the painting industry, the key drivers of waste include excess paint and single use plastic materials. To counteract this, we have put in place several initiatives:

All surfaces are accurately measured before commencing jobs so that the correct quantities of paint are purchased.

Leftover paint is donated to Recreate – a social enterprise based in Dublin who provide creative workshops to schools and other groups around the country. Recreate provide an excellent platform for a circular economy. You can find out more about their work at recreate.ie

If not fit for donation, leftover paint is filtered and reused where possible and if it is unsuitable for reuse it is collected in our storage drum and disposed of to the highest standards by Enva. You can find out more about their certified ethical disposal facilities at enva.com 

Empty paint tins are sent for recycling, and empty plastic paint buckets are used for seeding of trees and donated to local allotments. 

Future initiatives

The use of single use plastics sheeting will be fully replaced with recyclable paper masking and dust sheets made from reusable materials.

While water covers 71% of the planet, only 1% is available to us as drinking water. Although we get a lot of rain in Ireland, our water sources are under increasing pressure from a growing population, climate change, leaking and ageing infrastructure.

At the Painting Professionals, we use water for thinning of paint products as per manufacturer's instructions and the cleaning of equipment.

To save water we:

Source our water from rainwater collection tanks meaning we will not use mains water. This not only reduces water usage but also energy usage as a huge amount of energy is required to treat water to drinking quality and pump it to its destination.

All vans will have an equipment cleaning station with a collection tank for waste/dirty water.

Waste/dirty water will be flocculated and filtered for reuse for cleaning and thinning, and other future uses.

No water will be disposed of into main sewer lines or into the ground.

VOC-free and low VOC paints will be used as standard unless otherwise specified to minimise environmental impact.

Dust is minimised through Class M dustless sanding.

Actively promoting the benefits of bio based and natural mineral paints from reputable brands. Conventional household paints have been linked to health conditions such as asthma and cancer, so we strive to source the most effective and least harmful alternatives for our clients. (e.g. Bio-paints and mineral products).

Future initiatives

To further improve our impact on the environment, we will be teaming up with public institutions and like-minded companies to plant trees in Ireland. Each mature tree will supply enough oxygen for four people per day.

We will only plant indigenous Irish trees. 

Note on VOCs

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. 

Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of decorating products.

Health effects may include:

• Eye, nose and throat irritation
• Headaches, loss of coordination and nausea
• Damage to liver, kidney and central nervous system
• Some organics can cause cancer in animals, some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans.

Key signs or symptoms associated with exposure to VOCs include:

• conjunctival irritation
• nose and throat discomfort
• headache
• allergic skin reaction
• dyspnea
• declines in serum cholinesterase levels
• nausea
• emesis
• epistaxis
• fatigue
• dizziness

All information above has been taken from the Environmental Protection Agency website:

https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-impact-indoor-air-quality