A innovative new scheme to sell reusable leftover paint is being trialled in two charity shops in west Suffolk.

St Nicholas Hospice Care has started selling paint in its Barton Road store in Bury St Edmunds as well as its Mildenhall shop in Mill Street.

The new initiative will see leftover paint provided by Community RePaint, a national non-profit distributing company, sold at a reasonable price in the Bury St Edmunds-based hospice’s shops.

Managed by non-profit organisation Resources Futures, Community RePaint – which is sponsored by Dulux – will provide the paint in a number of colours and at a reduced cost.

Karen Sainty, the hospice’s head of retail, said: “We are very excited to be trialing the sale of reusable paint at two of our stores.

“We see this as a real opportunity. Not only will we be adding to the many goods we already offer our customers, we will also be providing a product that is perfectly balanced between being of high quality and affordable.”

Prices will range from £7 to £15, with the shops stocking two and a half and five litre pots of eight colours – including brilliant white, magnolia, chilled coffee and bailey blue.

The hospice says the sale of the paint also has environmental benefits as it means less will be going to landfill.

The charity is also keen to use the products as part of the project it runs with Highpoint prison, near Newmarket, where prisoners upcycle furniture which is later sold in hospice shops.

Mrs Sainty added: “Part of my role at the hospice is to oversee the work of the charity’s house clearance team.

“As part of this service we also clear garages and sheds and the amount of unwanted paint that ultimately ends up going to landfill has always struck me.

“So when Community RePaint got in touch to say they could offer high quality leftover paint that we could sell for a reasonable price in our hospice shops, I thought it was definitely an idea we had to explore.”