Paint firm's factory in Prudhoe, Northumberland is now harvesting rainwater to produce brands, such as Dulux and Cuprinol, as part of the company's operational Eco-Efficiency programme.

The new project enables Akzo to harvest up to 1.7m litres of rainwater per year, potentially halving the Prudhoe factory's annual water usage and saving the firm £10,000.

The water is pumped through a filter and UV sterilisation unit so that it doesn't contain any 'bugs' before it is used in the coatings products.

The firm has already seen the benefits of the new system, with water now supplied to the production line more than 20 times faster than before. According to the firm, water is now supplied at a rate of up to 500 litres per minute, saving up to 50% more time on some Cuprinol production lines.

The Akzo engineer behind the project Steve Hawes said: "We took the opportunity to look at harvesting rainwater while reviewing the best ways of increasing efficiency in our production process. We are delighted with the results of the programme, we have significantly reduced our production footprint and the initiative will pay for itself."

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