  We present an analysis of ultraviolet (UV) emission in the outer regions of a
local, volume-limited sample of 56 early-type galaxies, where H{\alpha}
emission from massive star formation is typically absent. We find excess faint
NUV emission in the environments of our early-type galaxies compared to blank
sky measured in the same tiles, indicating that the excesses are not due to
background contamination. We do not observe corresponding faint FUV excesses.
Faint NUV excesses increase with galaxy luminosity and are not correlated with
the presence or absence of HI in the environments of these galaxies. The faint
NUV excesses in the outskirts of early-type galaxies can be interpreted as
being due to star formation at or above a few \times 10-5 M\odot yr-1 kpc-2;
star formation at this rate can create a few percent of the mass of an
early-type galaxy in a Gyr. Faint early types (with MB > -21.3) have on average
four times as many bright UV sources within 30 kpc compared to bright early
types (with MB < -21.3). The peak of the source distribution detected around
faint early types is less luminous and slightly bluer than the peak of the
sources detected around bright early types, indicating that early types with MB
> -21.3 are more actively building up their mass with young stars. The spatial
distribution of bright sources around all early types increases approximately
linearly out to 20 kpc and subsequently flattens.
