PaintCare makes it convenient to recycle leftover paint by establishing drop-off sites at local government facilities and paint retailers near residential neighborhoods. These locations are easy to find by visiting PaintCare’s online site locator at www.paintcare.org, or by calling PaintCare’s hotline number at (855)PAINT09.
Most PaintCare sites accept both latex- and oil-based architectural paint products, including paints, stains, sealers, and varnishes. Paint must be dropped off in its original container with its original manufacturer’s label. A full list of products accepted by the program is available on PaintCare’s website at www.paintcare.org/products.
All sites accept up to five gallons of paint from each customer, and some sites may accept more. Those planning to drop off paint is encouraged to call ahead to ensure the site can accept the amount and type of paint they want to recycle and confirm the site’s hours of operation.
There is no cost to residents and businesses when dropping off their unwanted paint for recycling.
Businesses, organizations, and households with 100 gallons of paint or more to recycle may request a free pickup at their location. Some restrictions apply. More information and a request form can be found on PaintCare’s website at www.paintcare.org/pickup.
The new program is expected to manage more than 1.1 million gallons of paint in its first year. In New York, 36.6 million gallons of paint are sold annually, and it is estimated that about 10 percent of household paint goes unused. PaintCare helps ensure the “highest, best use” for paint collected in the program, including giving away good quality material as-is, recycling it, or putting it to another beneficial use. Most of the paint PaintCare receives is latex-based and can be remixed into recycled content paint by processors. To date, PaintCare has processed more than 50 million gallons of paint nationally and saved state and local governments millions of dollars.
Downloadable PDF of Accepted Paints - PaintCare-program-products-list.pdf
