Drop it off free
11 free paint drop-off sites within 12 miles.
- Sherwin-WilliamsPaint store0.3 mi
- GuirysPaint store0.3 mi
- GuirysPaint store0.7 mi
Boulder, CO Paint Disposal
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All drop-off locations in and near Boulder12
Start with these
Boulder County Hazardous Materials Management Facility
1901 63rd Street, Boulder, CO 80301
- Accepts
- Latex, oil and model paint, stain, varnish, thinner and spray cans on the county list.
- Who can use it
- Households in Boulder County, Broomfield and all of Erie, with proof. Ask staff about boundary cases.
- Hours
- Households: Wednesday–Saturday, 8:30 am–4 pm. Businesses: Tuesday appointments.
- Load limits
- County: 400 pounds a day; containers five gallons or less, with an inch of space at the top of a five-gallon bucket. PaintCare lists 40 gallons per visit. Extra may cost money.
- Fees
- Free for covered households; $50 per visit from outside the area. Businesses pay other rates.
Enter behind the recycling center, to the west. Empty cans go to trash or scrap metal; dried latex to the trash. Closed Thanksgiving Thursday–Friday, Christmas Eve and Day, and New Year’s Eve and Day.
11 PaintCare drop-off sites within 12 miles of Boulder.
10 paint stores and 1 hazardous waste site, closest first. Paint stores take house paint, stain and varnish, usually up to a set amount per visit. Hazardous waste sites also take chemicals like thinner, but some only serve local residents. Call before you go.
Rules most stores here share
Who: Households and Businesses in Colorado
Hours: Paint is accepted during regular business hours. Call ahead for hours and to make sure the store can accept the amount and type of paint you would like to recycle.
Products: This site accepts latex and oil-based house paint, stains and varnish in containers up to 5 gallons in size. This site does not accept aerosols (spray paint or other spray products), containers without original labels, or containers that are leaking or empty.
Each listing below shows only what’s different, plus its limit.
Sherwin-Williams
0.3 mi3130 Valmont Rd, Boulder, CO 80301
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Guirys
0.3 mi3295 Walnut St, Boulder, CO 80301
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Guirys
0.7 mi2404 Pearl St, Boulder, CO 80302
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
0.7 mi3550 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, CO 80303
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Boulder County
2.3 mi1901 63rd St, Boulder, CO 80301
- Who
- Households and VSQG Businesses in Boulder County Broomfield Erie
- Hours
- Wednesday-Saturday 8am-4pm
- Limits
- Limit: 40 gallons per visit.
- Products
- This site accepts latex and oil-based house paint, stains and varnish in containers up to 5 gallons in size. This site also takes most other household hazardous waste -- contact the site for details and restrictions. Please do not bring empty, leaking or unlabeled containers. SOME BUSINESSES may use this program by appointment or on special days. Contact the program for details if your paint (or other hazardous waste) is from a business.
- Notes
- By appointment only for businesses in Boulder and Broomfield counties that generate small quantities of hazardous wastes. By appointment only.
Juniper Paints
6.6 mi1335 E South Boulder Rd, Louisville, CO 80027
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Coal Creek Ace Hardware
7.1 mi1343 E South Boulder Rd, Louisville, CO 80027
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Jax Outdoor Gear Ranch and Home
8.7 mi400 W South Boulder Rd, Lafayette, CO 80026
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Show 3 more sites
Sherwin-Williams
9.7 mi670 N Hwy 287, Lafayette, CO 80026
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
11.5 mi1197 Ken Pratt Blvd, Longmont, CO 80501
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Guirys
11.8 mi700 Ken Pratt Blvd, Longmont, CO 80501
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Which option fits your Boulder cleanout?4
Paint plus other household chemicals
Check HMMF’s item list and stay within its daily weight and container limits. A paint store can take plain house paint; a mixed cleanout suits HMMF. Bring proof of address so staff know if your visit is free.
You saw a free paint pickup ad for Denver
PaintCare’s limited-time free home pickup (households with more than ten gallons) covers Broomfield, Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson, El Paso and Teller counties, not Boulder County; GreenSheen covers the same. Broomfield: call 720-854-8722. Boulder: haul to HMMF or ask about PaintCare’s 100-gallon pickup.
The leftover paint belongs to a business
Wednesday–Saturday is for households. Businesses use HMMF’s Tuesday appointments and business sign-up; describe products and amounts to get approval and a price. HMMF’s free usable paint depends on what’s come in.
A basement of dried latex and empty pails
Most of it never needs HMMF. Dried latex and empty containers go in the trash, metal cans to scrap metal, and clean plastic pails to CHaRM for $3 per vehicle. Bring only cans with liquid left to HMMF.
Boulder rules and tips5
THE LOCAL ANSWER
Boulder County’s HMMF, 1901 63rd Street, takes household paint and painting chemicals free from Boulder County, Broomfield and Erie residents, walk-in Wednesday–Saturday. Dried latex and empty cans go to trash or scrap metal. Businesses use Tuesday appointments.
Boulder County’s Hazardous Materials Management Facility (HMMF) takes paint and painting chemicals free from Boulder County, Broomfield and Erie households, and gives away usable paint. Empty plastic buckets go to Eco-Cycle’s CHaRM on Arapahoe Road instead.
Use the HMMF entrance
HMMF is behind the recycling center, to the west. A recycling trip is a different service.
Set aside empty and dried-out cans
The county says dried latex and empty cans aren’t hazardous. Dried latex goes in the trash; empty metal cans go to scrap metal or trash.
Clean plastic buckets go to CHaRM
Eco-Cycle’s CHaRM at 6400 Arapahoe Road takes clean large #2 and #5 plastics, including buckets. No item fee, just $3 per vehicle, and anyone can use it.
Two different limits
The county allows 400 pounds a day; PaintCare lists HMMF at 40 gallons of paint per visit. Call 720-564-2251 before bringing a basement’s worth of five-gallon pails.
Mountain households have a closer paint stop
Indian Peaks Ace Hardware, 74 S Highway 119 in Nederland, is on PaintCare’s list at 5 gallons per visit. It can save a canyon drive for labeled paint. Thinner and other chemicals still go to HMMF.
Free pickup programs and other options
For a few labeled cans, use a PaintCare store; in town, Guiry’s on Walnut and Pearl and Sherwin-Williams on Valmont and Arapahoe take 5 gallons per visit. Households outside Boulder County, Broomfield and Erie pay $50 per HMMF visit, so a store is often cheaper for paint alone.
Getting your paint ready
Bring proof of address: driver’s license, car registration, voter ID, lease or utility bill. Cans five gallons or less, with an inch of space on top. Let small latex leftovers dry for the trash. Rinse plastic pails for CHaRM.
Full preparation checklist →Boulder questions5
Do households need an appointment?
No. Just come Wednesday–Saturday, 8:30 am–4 pm.
Can a business use the free service?
No. Businesses book Tuesday appointments online and may pay fees.
Does PaintCare’s free home pickup cover Boulder?
No. PaintCare’s state page says its limited-time Colorado pickup covers Broomfield, not Boulder County.
Where do empty paint cans go?
Metal cans: scrap metal or trash. Clean plastic buckets: CHaRM.
Can I take paint home from HMMF?
Yes, when available. HMMF gives away usable latex and oil paint and other products during public hours.
Sources and how we checked8
Checked October 6, 2026 against Boulder County, Eco-Cycle and PaintCare pages. The county’s 400-pound daily limit and PaintCare’s 40 gallons per visit measure different things; ask which applies to a big paint load. PaintCare says HMMF opens 8 am; we use the county’s 8:30 am. The pickup help for people who can’t haul waste comes from a Longmont city notice.
Checked October 6, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
Boulder County hazardous materials facility ↗Boulder County accepted hazardous materials ↗Boulder County household eligibility and fees ↗Eco-Cycle CHaRM hours and fees ↗Eco-Cycle CHaRM accepted materials ↗PaintCare drop-off site locator ↗PaintCare Colorado door-to-door and large-volume pickup ↗GreenSheen current pickup coverage and threshold ↗
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