How to dispose of paint cans (full, empty and dried)

Which kind of paint can do you have?

Open the can and look. Paint can have a dry skin on top and still be liquid underneath, so poke through the skin with a stick. Then find your can in the table.

Full or partly full cans: take them to a drop-off

Paint that is still liquid should not go in the trash or the recycling bin. In the 13 PaintCare areas (CA, CO, CT, DC, IL, ME, MD, MN, NY, OR, RI, VT and WA), you can drop it off for free at a PaintCare site. Many of those sites are paint and hardware stores. Each store decides whether to take part, so check PaintCare’s site locator before you go.

PaintCare’s rules are simple. The paint must be in its original can with the maker’s printed label. The lid must be on securely. Each container can be up to 5 gallons. Leaking, empty and unlabeled cans are turned away. Sites must take at least 5 gallons per visit, and some take more, so call ahead if you have a lot.

Outside PaintCare areas, take liquid paint to your county or city household hazardous waste program. If the paint is latex and your area allows it, you can also dry it out and trash it. Our guide to hardening paint explains how.

Are empty paint cans recyclable?

Sometimes. It depends on your local hauler, not on the can. Most paint cans are metal, and some are plastic buckets. Even so, cities split on whether empty paint cans belong in recycling or the trash.

Here is how a few programs handle it:

• New York City: dry out the paint, put it in the garbage, and recycle the empty container.
• Hennepin County, Minnesota: empty cans and cans with fully dried latex paint go in the garbage, lid off.
• King County, Washington: once latex paint has hardened, put the can in your garbage with the lid off.
• Recology (parts of California, Oregon and Washington): metal cans and plastic buckets with dried latex paint go in the garbage, lid off.
• Sacramento area, California: dry paint cans and disposable brushes go in the trash.

What counts as "empty"?

For a household, an empty paint can has only a thin, dry film of paint left. No liquid, no soft paint in the rim, no wet lumps. PaintCare says to take the lid off so your collector can see the can is empty.

For businesses, federal hazardous waste rules give a stricter test. A container is empty when everything that can be poured out has been, and no more than one inch of residue is left (or no more than 3% of its capacity by weight for containers of 119 gallons or less). Contractors should follow that rule and their state’s rules. See our contractor guide.

1. Scrape leftover paint out with a putty knife or spatula into one can you plan to dry or drop off.
2. Leave the empty can open outside, out of reach of kids and pets, until the film is dry.
3. Check the rim groove. It often holds wet paint after the rest is dry.
4. Put the can out the way your hauler says, usually with the lid off.

Dried paint: when the trash is OK

PaintCare says paint that is already dried out, rock hard, can go in the trash. Many counties agree for latex paint. Benton County, Washington, says dry latex paint is no longer a hazardous waste and can go out with your regular garbage.

Oil-based paint is different. Benton County says oil-based and solvent-based paints should never go in the garbage, even when dry. Hennepin County’s trash rule covers only latex. If you aren’t sure what kind of paint you have, see our guide to telling latex from oil-based.

What to do with the lids

Lids follow opposite rules depending on where the can is going.

Going to a drop-off: keep the lid on tight. PaintCare won’t take a can without a secure lid.

Going in the trash or recycling: take the lid off so the driver can see the can holds only dried paint. Hennepin County says to put the lid in the garbage. If a lid is stuck in dried paint, leave it if you can’t get it off safely and ask your hauler what to do.

Rusty, leaking, bulging or unlabeled cans

PaintCare sites don’t take leaking cans or cans without the original label. These go to your household hazardous waste program instead. Call first and say what shape the cans are in.

To move a leaking or rusted-through can, set it upright in a bigger container, like a plastic tub or bucket with a lid. Pack it so it can’t tip. Don’t pour the paint into a new can. A new can has no label, and the site may not take it.

If a can is so old you think the paint might contain lead, read our lead paint guide before you open it.

What not to do

• Don’t put cans with liquid paint in the trash or recycling bin.
• Don’t rinse paint out of a can into a storm drain, the street or the yard. Storm drains flow to creeks without treatment.
• Don’t wash out cans of leftover paint at the sink. Sacramento’s rules say to remove leftover paint from buckets before washing them.
• Don’t crush or flatten a can that still has wet paint in it.
• Don’t burn cans or paint.
• Don’t drop off empty cans at a PaintCare site. They will be refused.