Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Huntsville.
1055 A Cleaner Way, Huntsville, AL 35805
No appointment. Staff take the items out of your car. The current facility opened in 2019; before that, the program took drop-offs only on the first Saturday of each month. The city says it sees about 60 customers a day.
13020 Bailey Cove Rd, Huntsville, AL 35803
You can just drop off, or stay and help with the litter cleanup (supplies provided). This is a handy Saturday option for people in south Huntsville who can’t get to Cleaner Way on a weekday.
Your state doesn’t have a PaintCare program, so stores here don’t take paint for free. These are the public drop-off programs PaintCare’s map lists, closest first. Most only serve their own residents and some charge a fee. Call before you go.
1055 A Cleaner Way, Huntsville, AL 35805
1802 Central Pkwy SW, Decatur, AL 35601
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Take them to Cleaner Way on any weekday. No appointment, no fee, and you don’t get out of the car. The facility serves all of Madison County.
Bring the paint to McGucken Park, 13020 Bailey Cove Rd., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, 8 a.m.–noon. Paint is on the list for the South Huntsville Cleanup collection.
If it’s less than a third full, take the lid off and let it dry solid, then put it in the garbage. Don’t set out wet paint; Huntsville crews won’t collect it.
Set it in a leak-resistant bag or container and soak up any spill with cat litter or sawdust, as ADEM suggests. Call 256-882-0155 before you drive it over, because PaintCare’s listing says the site won’t take leaking cans.
Drive your paint to the free Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 1055 A Cleaner Way, any weekday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; staff unload it from your car. It’s for Madison County residents, including Huntsville and Madison. Don’t put liquid paint in your garbage or recycling cart.
In Huntsville, Alabama, leftover paint goes to the Solid Waste Disposal Authority’s drive-through hazardous waste facility at 1055 A Cleaner Way. It’s free for Madison County residents and open every weekday. Huntsville garbage crews won’t pick up paint, and paint cans don’t go in the recycling cart.
The Cleaner Way facility is open Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–5 p.m., rain or shine. No appointment. Stay in your car; staff unload it.
The city says the facility serves Madison County residents, including the cities of Huntsville and Madison. It’s free.
The city’s Green Team is collecting paint and other household hazardous waste at McGucken Park, 13020 Bailey Cove Rd., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, 8 a.m.–noon, during the South Huntsville cleanup. The event page doesn’t give limits or say who can use it, so call 256-532-5326 with questions.
Huntsville’s curbside page says crews won’t collect paint, chemicals or solvents. The recycling program lists paint cans as not collected and sends them to Cleaner Way.
PaintCare’s listing for the facility says that if a can of water-based paint is less than 1/3 full, take the lid off, let it dry solid, and put it in your garbage. The facility won’t take empty, dry or leaking cans.
Alabama has no PaintCare program, so stores don’t take paint back for free. The city suggests giving usable leftover paint to neighborhood groups or local organizations. ADEM also suggests woodworkers or theater groups. Huntsville garbage crews won’t collect liquid paint. PaintCare’s listing for the Cleaner Way facility says a can of water-based paint that is less than 1/3 full can be left open to dry solid and then put in your household garbage.
Keep paint in its original cans if you can. If a can is damaged or leaking, ADEM suggests soaking up the liquid with cat litter or sawdust and carrying it in a leak-resistant bag or container. Set the cans upright in the trunk so staff can reach them.
Full preparation checklist →Yes. The Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 1055 A Cleaner Way is free for Madison County residents.
No. Drive through any weekday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Yes. The city says it serves Madison County residents, including the City of Madison.
No. Huntsville’s recycling program lists paint cans as not collected. Take them to Cleaner Way instead.
No; it’s weekdays only. On Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, the South Huntsville Cleanup at McGucken Park also takes paint from 8 a.m. to noon.
October 12, 2026: read the City of Huntsville Hazardous Waste page (in a browser), its Sept. 27, 2024 article on the facility (Madison County residents, free, drive-through, staff unload, about 60 customers a day, opened 2019), its Feb. 25, 2025 article on hazardous items, the Curbside Collection page (paint not collected) and the recycling Items for Pick-Up page (paint cans not collected), plus the city calendar entry for the Oct. 17, 2026 South Huntsville Cleanup. ADEM’s household hazardous waste brochure was read for state rules. Not confirmed on a city page: latex vs oil-based (the city just says “paints”), quantity limits, and the business rule. The 1/3-full drying tip, households-only rule and no-leaking-cans rule come from PaintCare’s locator listing, not a city page. The Solid Waste Disposal Authority’s own website (swdahsv.org) returned a server error. Peer review (Oct. 12, 2026): the damaged-can tip (box lined with garbage bags) was not on any city page and was replaced with ADEM’s leak-resistant container advice; the McGucken Park event page gives no fee or residency rule, so the guide no longer calls it free or household-only. Move the Oct. 17 event to past tense after that date.
Checked October 12, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
