Can you throw away paint?
What each state's own agency says about paint: the page it was read from, the date it was read, and where that state takes it.
Trash
Recycle
Special drop-off
Whether it's trash, recycling, or a special drop-off depends on your state — find yours in the table below.
Never pour paint down the drain, on the ground, or burn it (Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet).
The federal baseline
Federal law exempts waste from ordinary household activities from hazardous-waste regulation — EPA's household hazardous waste guidance lists paint among the leftover products "that can catch fire, react, or explode under certain circumstances, or that are corrosive or toxic." EPA's advice is to check product labels for disposal directions and use a community collection program rather than the drain or the ground.
Read from EPA.
What happens to it
- Leftover paint goes to a drop-off site or county HHW collection
- Collected paint is sorted by type — latex and oil-based
- Latex is remixed and recycled into new paint
- Oil-based paint is blended for use as a fuel
Steps read from Maine DEP.
All 50 states
One row per state, with the sentence its agency page states, the page itself, the date it was read, and where that state says to take it. A state whose name links has a page of its own; for the rest, this row is everything that state says.
| State | Verdict | The rule | Source | Where to take it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No statewide rule | Alabama has no statewide paint rule — ADEM says most communities lack HHW collection; trash disposal is allowed only with no freestanding liquid (absorb into cat litter or let it dry first). | Alabama Department of Environmental Management checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Alaska | No statewide rule | Alaska has no statewide paint rule — DEC's disposal guidance is landfill-based; ask your borough or city landfill what paint and household hazardous waste it takes. | Alaska DEC checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Arizona | No statewide rule | Arizona has no statewide paint rule — ADEQ does not collect HHW; check your town, city, or county program or an ADEQ-approved transfer station. | Arizona Department of Environmental Quality checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Arkansas | No statewide rule | Arkansas has no statewide paint rule — household paint and solvents go to a local HHW collection center; DEQ lists the centers and their hours. | Arkansas DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| California | Special drop-off | California bans paint from disposal on land or in water — take leftover paint to a PaintCare drop-off site. | CalRecycle checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Colorado | Special drop-off | Colorado's Architectural Paint Stewardship Act (SB 14-029) has had PaintCare collecting unused paint since 2015 — search PaintCare.org for the drop-off site nearest you. | Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Connecticut | Special drop-off | Connecticut's paint stewardship law (CGS §22a-904, 2011) funds PaintCare drop-off at 140+ retail sites; town HHW collections also take oil-based paint. | Connecticut DEEP checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Delaware | No statewide rule | Delaware has no statewide paint rule — DNREC routes household hazardous waste to the Delaware Solid Waste Authority, whose weekly drop-off sites take oil-based paint, and latex on scheduled days. | Delaware DNREC checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Florida | No statewide rule | Florida has no statewide paint rule — but every county in Florida runs a household hazardous waste program; check your county's HHW site for paint drop-off. | Florida DEP checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Georgia | No statewide rule | Georgia has no statewide paint rule — EPD says to use it up or donate it, solidify leftovers with cat litter for the trash, and never put liquids in the garbage. | Georgia EPD checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Hawaii | No statewide rule | Hawaii has no statewide paint rule — the Health Department's guide says to give leftover paint away, harden latex before trashing it, and take oil-based paint to your county's HHW collection. | Hawaii Department of Health checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Idaho | No statewide rule | Idaho has no statewide paint rule — DEQ says many communities hold collection events; contact your county, public health district, or local landfill. | Idaho DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Illinois | Special drop-off | Illinois' Paint Stewardship Act (P.A. 103-372, effective 2024) funds 300+ year-round PaintCare drop-off sites; the sites do not take spray paint. | Illinois EPA checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Indiana | No statewide rule | Indiana has no statewide paint rule — IDEM sends households to their local solid waste management district for HHW collection days and sites. | Indiana Department of Environmental Management checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Iowa | Special drop-off | Iowa DNR says to dry latex paint with cat litter or sawdust and trash it lid-off, and take other paints to your Regional Collection Center — 28 centers and 43 satellites serve 96 counties. | Iowa DNR checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Kansas | No statewide rule | Kansas has no statewide paint rule — take household hazardous waste to your county HHW program; KDHE keeps the county contact list. | Kansas Department of Health and Environment checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Kentucky | Special drop-off | Kentucky's paint fact sheet says to harden latex paint with kitty litter, sand, or a hardener for the trash — oil-based paint cannot go in the trash and belongs at a county HHW collection. | Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Louisiana | No statewide rule | Louisiana has no statewide paint rule — LDEQ's guide says leftover paint can be evaporated in its can where local rules permit and trashed once hard; parish programs vary, and lead- or mercury-bearing paint is hazardous waste. | Louisiana DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Maine | Special drop-off | Maine's paint product stewardship law (38 M.R.S. §2144) puts leftover paint into the PaintCare program — return it to retail or municipal drop-off sites. | Maine DEP checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Maryland | Special drop-off | Under the Maryland Paint Stewardship Act, manufacturers collect and recycle leftover architectural paint through PaintCare drop-off sites. | Maryland Department of the Environment checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Massachusetts | No statewide rule | Massachusetts has no statewide paint rule — MassDEP lists approved HHW collection facilities and municipal collection programs; check your city or town's schedule. | Massachusetts DEP checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Michigan | No statewide rule | Michigan has no statewide paint rule — EGLE keeps a county-by-county list of local HHW collection contacts, and lists latex paint among its hard-to-recycle items. | Michigan EGLE checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Minnesota | Special drop-off | Minnesota's paint stewardship program takes leftover paint at PaintCare retail sites and county household hazardous waste programs. | Minnesota Pollution Control Agency checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Mississippi | No statewide rule | Mississippi has no statewide paint rule — MDEQ says to donate usable paint, let latex evaporate to solids before trashing, and use a community HHW collection event or site where one exists. | Mississippi DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Missouri | Special drop-off | Missouri DNR says to harden latex paint (kitty litter, sand, hardener) for the trash, and take oil-based paint to a collection center or paint retailer — no statewide stewardship program. | Missouri DNR checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Montana | No statewide rule | Montana has no statewide paint rule — a few communities run year-round HHW collection or paint exchanges; DEQ says to ask your county solid waste office. | Montana DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Nebraska | No statewide rule | Nebraska has no statewide paint rule — NDEE says to use products up or give them away, and take the rest to a community HHW facility like Lincoln's HazToGo or Omaha's UnderTheSink. | Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Nevada | No statewide rule | Nevada has no statewide paint rule — NDEP says latex paint can be dried out (kitty litter speeds it up) and wet paint goes to your county's HHW collection; services differ by county. | Nevada Division of Environmental Protection checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| New Hampshire | Special drop-off | NHDES says oil-based, lead-based, and solvent-based paints are hazardous and must not go in the trash — bring them to a HHW collection event; latex paint may be dried out and trashed. | New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| New Jersey | No statewide rule | New Jersey has no statewide paint rule — each of the 21 counties runs its own household hazardous waste program; check your county's collection schedule. | New Jersey DEP checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| New Mexico | No statewide rule | New Mexico has no statewide paint rule — the Environment Department keeps a county-by-county list of household hazardous waste collection programs; check yours. | New Mexico Environment Department checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| New York | Special drop-off | New York's Postconsumer Paint Collection Program (ECL Article 27, Title 20, 2019) takes latex and oil-based paint at PaintCare drop-off sites statewide. | New York State DEC checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| North Carolina | No statewide rule | North Carolina has no statewide paint rule — DEQ says to air-dry latex paint or mix it with litter, and take the rest to a county HHW collection center. | North Carolina DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| North Dakota | No statewide rule | North Dakota has no statewide paint rule — DEQ says to use products up, share leftovers, or give them to a HHW collection program; the biggest cities run their own. | North Dakota DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Ohio | No statewide rule | Ohio has no statewide paint rule — Ohio EPA says latex paint can be dried out (paint hardener, cat litter, or sawdust) and trashed lid-off; your county solid waste district lists HHW options for the rest. | Ohio EPA checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Oklahoma | No statewide rule | Oklahoma has no statewide paint rule — DEQ points households to community HHW facilities and collection events; check whether your city or county runs one. | Oklahoma DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Oregon | Special drop-off | Oregon's architectural paint stewardship program — the first in the nation (2009) — funds statewide drop-off; take leftover paint to a PaintCare site. | Oregon DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Pennsylvania | No statewide rule | Pennsylvania has no statewide paint rule — DEP points households to county and municipal HHW collection programs, which differ across the state. | Pennsylvania DEP checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Rhode Island | Special drop-off | Rhode Island law puts leftover latex and oil-based paint into the PaintCare program; DEM also runs Eco-Depot HHW collections, and says small latex amounts may be hardened and trashed. | Rhode Island DEM checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| South Carolina | No statewide rule | South Carolina has no statewide paint rule — SCDES says dried, solidified latex paint may go in household trash (air-dry or mix in cat litter) and oil-based paint belongs at a county HHW program. | South Carolina Department of Environmental Services checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| South Dakota | No statewide rule | South Dakota has no statewide paint rule — DANR regulates the disposal facilities; ask your city or county landfill or solid waste program about paint and HHW collection. | South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Tennessee | Special drop-off | Tennessee's HHW program says to dry up latex paint for the regular garbage and carry oil-based paint to your county's year-round paint collection site; the state's mobile HHW events no longer take paint. | Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Texas | No statewide rule | Texas has no statewide paint rule — TCEQ says cans under a quarter full can be dried open and trashed; for the rest, find your city or county HHW collection program. | Texas Commission on Environmental Quality checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Utah | No statewide rule | Utah has no statewide paint rule — DEQ points to county programs (Salt Lake, Weber, and Morgan counties run HHW facilities; elsewhere, call your local health department). | Utah DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Vermont | Special drop-off | Vermont's Paint Product Stewardship Act (2013) funds free PaintCare drop-off statewide — DEC says never throw liquid paint in the trash, and oil-based paint never goes in the trash at all. | Vermont DEC checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Virginia | No statewide rule | Virginia has no statewide paint rule — DEQ says HHW like old paint is collected at county landfills, transfer stations, and local collection days; check with your Public Works office. | Virginia DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Washington | Special drop-off | Washington's paint stewardship program (RCW ch. 70A.515, 2019) takes latex and oil-based paint at free PaintCare drop-off sites. | Washington Department of Ecology checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| West Virginia | Special drop-off | WVDEP says to harden latex paint with sawdust or cat litter before trashing it, and treats oil-based paint as household hazardous waste — ask your local solid waste authority about disposal options. | West Virginia DEP checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |
| Wisconsin | Special drop-off | Wisconsin DNR says latex paint can be dried solid and trashed, but oil-based paint goes to a household hazardous waste collection — most areas use DATCP's Clean Sweep events. | Wisconsin DNR checked 2026-08-19 | Drop-off finder |
| Wyoming | No statewide rule | Wyoming has no statewide paint rule — DEQ's solid waste program leaves collection to approved local facilities and governments; ask yours about paint and HHW days. | Wyoming DEQ checked 2026-08-19 | County programs |