Riverland Community College’s Collision Repair Technology program is getting a little greener.

The college recently accepted more than $42,000 worth of water-based paint mixing materials, as well as a new paint mixing system, from Auto Body Specialists and PPG Industries.

“This is a winning example of how private and public coming together to provide quality education to our future workforce through teaching, scholarship and service,” RCC President Adenuga Atewologun said.

The PPG Envirobase Paint Mixing System uses waterborne paint made by PPG to create environmentally friendly paint products to use on cars.

In addition, recent legislation will allow Riverland to receive a matching grant from an appropriation to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. About $25,000 of that matching grant will go toward an auto body paint simulator students can use to perfect their technique without using expensive materials to practice.

“We could not afford that type of technology out of our operating budget,” said Steve Bowron, dean for institutional advancement.