Drop it off
Where Gadsden residents can take paint:
- City of Gadsden Public Works: public transfer station and inert (C&D) landfill (ask about paint first)111 Burnsway Drive, Gadsden, AL 35903
Gadsden, AL Paint Disposal
Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Gadsden.
NOW AVAILABLE IN GADSDEN
Paint recycling pickup. Book online.
Book a pickup $89 minimum · No next-day surcharge
All drop-off locations in and near Gadsden1
Start with these
City of Gadsden Public Works: public transfer station and inert (C&D) landfill (ask about paint first)
111 Burnsway Drive, Gadsden, AL 35903
- Accepts
- The transfer station takes garbage, which is hauled to a Subtitle D landfill (Noble Hill Landfill, per Etowah County's 2024 plan). The inert landfill takes only construction and demolition debris; the city also collects wood waste for free mulch and large metals for recycling. No city page says either one takes paint.
- Who can use it
- Gadsden residents get the discount. The plan says Southside's trash also goes through the Gadsden transfer station. Other towns, nonresidents and private haulers pay the full rate.
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the last Saturday of each month, 7 a.m. to noon (the city's Public Works page).
- Load limits
- City code Sec. 106-78 says no dangerous or hazardous materials may be disposed of at the municipal landfill, and Sec. 106-85 says a sealed container isn't accepted there unless its contents are identified, and containers must be open on at least one end with no toxic, flammable or other hazardous residue. Minutes of a Dec. 9, 2025 council hearing list, from a discussion with TTL environmental engineer Charles Oligee, that household garbage and hazardous materials, including liquids, are prohibited at the C&D landfill. No tires at the inert landfill.
- Fees
- City code Sec. 106-88: Gadsden residents pay a $5 inert landfill fee for a car or a light pickup (3/4 ton or less, no stake body) with proof of residency such as a driver's license, car tag receipt, tax notice or water bill. Nonresidents and private haulers pay $10 plus $50 a ton. The transfer station charges $50 a ton (or $10 a ton above the city's contract cost, whichever is greater). The county's 2024 plan lists $40 a ton at the transfer station, so ask for today's rate.
The Public Works page gives 111 Burnsway Drive; the county's 2024 plan lists the transfer station at 110 Burnsway Drive. Call 256-549-4706 before bringing any paint; the code bans hazardous materials at the municipal landfill and no source says liquid paint is taken. Alabama has no PaintCare program.
City of Gadsden, Alabama: Public Works (transfer station and inert landfill hours) ↗City of Gadsden, Alabama Code of Ordinances, Chapter 106: Solid Waste (Municode) ↗Etowah County: Draft Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan 2024-2034 (May 2, 2024, PDF) ↗City of Gadsden: City Council minutes, Dec. 9, 2025 (C&D landfill expansion hearing, PDF) ↗
Which option fits your Gadsden cleanout?4
A few cans of old latex in the carport
If the paint is still good, offer it to a neighbor, woodworker or theater group, as ADEM suggests, or call the Rainbow City ReStore (256-467-3719). Otherwise, ask Public Works (256-549-4706) whether hardened latex can go in your 90-gallon cart. ADEM's method: no free liquid, bagged, a small amount at a time.
Oil-based stain and paint thinner
No Etowah County collection takes these, and the code bars hazardous materials at the city landfill. ADEM allows trash disposal only as a last resort, after any free liquid is gone or soaked up, bagged and in small amounts. Call Public Works at 256-549-4706 first.
Landlord clearing out a rental
The code says the landlord is responsible for waste from cleanup between tenants, and a city pickup of bulk refuse from a rental costs $1,000 plus tipping fees unless the owner removes it within three days. Haul debris yourself; Gadsden residents pay $5 at the inert landfill with proof of residency. Keep paint out of that load.
Contractor with leftover paint from a job
Sec. 106-76 makes the owner and contractor responsible for hauling off construction debris, and the city's sanitation crew won't take hazardous materials. The county's 2024 plan says Waste Management reportedly provides commercial, industrial and special waste service for Gadsden. Ask your commercial hauler how it handles paint.
Gadsden rules and tips5
THE LOCAL ANSWER
Call Gadsden Public Works at 256-549-4706 before doing anything with liquid paint; city code bars hazardous materials from city pickup and the city landfill, and we found no paint drop-off in Etowah County. ADEM's brochure says that if you have no other option, you can let the liquid evaporate or soak it up in cat litter, bag it, and trash small amounts at a time. Give usable paint away first.
Gadsden, Alabama, in Etowah County, has no paint drop-off and no household hazardous waste day that we could find. City code says the sanitation department won't collect dangerous or hazardous materials and bans them at the city landfill. The code doesn't name paint. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) says most Alabama communities have no hazardous waste site and gives steps for drying small amounts for the trash.
What Gadsden's code says
Sec. 106-78 lists items the city sanitation department won't collect, including dangerous or hazardous materials like poisons, acids and caustics. The owner must dispose of them safely, and none may go to the municipal landfill. Sec. 106-85 says the municipal landfill won't take a sealed container unless its contents are identified, and containers must be open on at least one end with no flammable or other hazardous residue. Paint isn't named, so ask Public Works how it applies.
ADEM's last-resort trash steps
ADEM says try to give paint or thinner to someone who can use it, such as a woodworker or theater group. If you have no other option, it allows trash disposal only if there's no free liquid: let it evaporate or soak it up in cat litter or sawdust. Bag it so it can't leak, and put out only a small amount each collection day.
Your 90-gallon cart and the large-item permit
The city gives each house one 90-gallon cart. It must be at the curb by 7 a.m. on your day and back behind the house by 7 a.m. the next day. Couches, mattresses and appliances need a $100 disposal permit from the Revenue Department (256-549-4721) before a scheduled pickup. Those rules don't cover paint.
The landfill takes debris, not paint
Gadsden's inert landfill and transfer station on Burnsway Drive are open weekdays 7 to 3 and the last Saturday of each month 7 to noon. The inert landfill takes only construction and demolition debris. Minutes of a Dec. 9, 2025 council hearing list, among points from a discussion with TTL environmental engineer Charles Oligee, that household garbage and hazardous materials, including liquids, are prohibited there. The city lists the site at 111 Burnsway Drive; the county's 2024 plan says 110.
Gadsden Recycles doesn't list paint
The city's recycling center at 306 Henry Street, off Meighan Blvd., takes cardboard, newspaper, metals (no food cans), aluminum and electronics. Residents can drop off weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Glass and plastic aren't taken now. It doesn't say whether empty, dry paint cans count as metal, so ask the Recycling Supervisor at 256-549-4611.
Free pickup programs and other options
Alabama has no PaintCare program, so no stores take paint back through PaintCare. Gadsden-Etowah Habitat for Humanity opened a ReStore in February 2026 at 3225 Rainbow Drive, Suite 248A, Rainbow City (256-467-3719). The Anniston Star (Feb. 19, 2026) said it would sell paint. Habitat's own ReStore listing gives only the address and phone, and no source says what paint donations it takes, so call first. PaintCare's locator has Alabama non-program listings that won't help Etowah County: Huntsville's center is for Madison County households only, Jefferson County's collection days require proof of Jefferson County residency, and Decatur's monthly collection is for Decatur households only. Unlike Birmingham or Huntsville, we found no county collection in Etowah County to wait for.
Getting your paint ready
Sort usable paint from paint that has gone bad, and try to give the good cans away first. If you must use ADEM's trash method, follow the label, mix cat litter or sawdust into the paint until no liquid is left, and bag it so it can't leak. Put out only a little each collection. ADEM says never dump, bury or burn leftovers, and never pour them into a storm drain; those pipes usually empty untreated water into lakes and rivers.
Full preparation checklist →Gadsden questions5
Where can I drop off paint in Gadsden, Alabama?
We found no paint drop-off or hazardous waste day in Gadsden or Etowah County. Call Public Works at 256-549-4706 to ask how the city wants it handled. City code bans hazardous materials from city pickup and the city landfill.
Can I put dried latex paint in my garbage can?
Gadsden's code doesn't name paint. ADEM's brochure allows small amounts in the trash once there's no free liquid, bagged so it can't leak. Check with Public Works first.
Does the transfer station on Burnsway Drive take paint?
No city page says so. The code bans hazardous materials and containers with hazardous residue at the municipal landfill. Call 256-549-4706 before you go.
I live in Rainbow City, Attalla or Southside. Is it different?
Etowah County's 2024 plan says Rainbow City uses Republic Services, Attalla uses Arrow Disposal, and Southside runs its own trucks to the Gadsden transfer station. The plan names Arrow Disposal for unincorporated areas; Meridian Waste now posts Etowah County guidelines (carts labeled Meridian Waste/ADSI) that say hazardous waste isn't permitted. Ask your own hauler.
Can Etowah County residents use Birmingham's or Huntsville's hazardous waste site?
PaintCare's non-program listings say Jefferson County's days are for Jefferson County residents and Huntsville's center is for Madison County households only.
Sources and how we checked13
Checked October 17, 2026: the City of Gadsden's Public Works, Recycling and Garbage Fee Collections pages; Gadsden's Code of Ordinances, Chapter 106 (read on Municode in the in-app browser, version July 20, 2026); the city council's Dec. 9, 2025 minutes; Etowah County's draft 2024-2034 solid waste plan; Meridian Waste's Etowah County guidelines page and 2024 PDF; ADEM's household hazardous waste brochure; the Anniston Star's Feb. 19, 2026 ReStore story and Habitat's affiliate page; and PaintCare's locator data (no Etowah County listing; Alabama has no program). Searches found no Gadsden or Etowah County household hazardous waste event. Unresolved: whether the city accepts dried latex in carts; whether the transfer station takes any paint; whether Gadsden Recycles takes empty metal paint cans; the ReStore's paint donation policy; the transfer station's address (110 or 111 Burnsway Drive) and its current fee ($40 or $50 a ton). We made no phone calls.
Checked October 17, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
City of Gadsden, Alabama Code of Ordinances, Chapter 106: Solid Waste (Municode) ↗City of Gadsden, Alabama: Public Works (transfer station and inert landfill hours) ↗City of Gadsden, Alabama: Recycling (Gadsden Recycles, 306 Henry Street) ↗City of Gadsden, Alabama: Garbage Fee Collections ↗Etowah County: Draft Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan 2024-2034 (May 2, 2024, PDF) ↗City of Gadsden: City Council minutes, Dec. 9, 2025 (C&D landfill expansion hearing, PDF) ↗Meridian Waste: Etowah County Collection Guidelines (Update 2024-A, PDF) ↗Meridian Waste: Garbage guidelines for Etowah County, Alabama ↗Alabama Department of Environmental Management: Household Hazardous Waste brochure (PDF) ↗The Anniston Star: Habitat for Humanity ReStore opens in Rainbow City (Feb. 19, 2026) ↗Habitat for Humanity: Gadsden-Etowah Habitat for Humanity (ReStore address and phone) ↗PaintCare drop-off site locator ↗PaintCare program states ↗
