Drop it off free
29 free paint drop-off sites within 12 miles.
- Sherwin-Williams Commercial StorePaint store0.8 mi
- Sherwin-Williams Commercial StorePaint store1.5 mi
- WS Jenks & SonPaint store1.9 mi
Washington, DC Paint Disposal
Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Washington.
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All drop-off locations in and near Washington32
Start with these
DC DPW Special Waste Collection Event — RFK Stadium Lot 3
2400 East Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
- Accepts
- Oil-based and latex paint, stain, lacquer, varnish, thinner, mineral spirits and spray cans, plus other household chemicals, electronics and up to five boxes of papers to shred.
- Who can use it
- D.C. residents only, with proof of address (license, utility bill or lease) and your Eventbrite ticket. A D.C. resident must be in the car. No business waste.
- Hours
- Left in 2026 as of October 6: Thursday, October 22, and Saturday, November 14, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. (Eventbrite shows 8 a.m. for November 14, but its text says nothing is taken before 10.) Earlier 2026 events at RFK Lot 8, including September 12 and 24, have passed.
- Load limits
- One free ticket and one 30-minute arrival window per car per event. No paint limit posted. DPW may close the gate when full.
- Fees
- Free.
A pop-up event you register for, not a walk-in site. Fort Totten stopped taking household hazardous waste in 2021. DPW says latex can also go to PaintCare. Bad weather can delay or cancel events.
Frager's Hardware — PaintCare drop-off (Capitol Hill)
1115 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20003
- Accepts
- Latex and oil-based house paint, stain and varnish, up to 5-gallon containers.
- Who can use it
- D.C. households and businesses. Businesses can bring oil-based paint only if very small.
- Hours
- Store hours, per PaintCare. Call first.
- Load limits
- 5 gallons per visit.
- Fees
- Free to drop off.
No spray cans, or unlabeled, leaking or empty containers. Being open doesn't mean the bin has room; call with your can count.
Tenleytown Ace Hardware — PaintCare drop-off
4500 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
- Accepts
- Latex and oil-based house paint, stain and varnish, up to 5-gallon containers.
- Who can use it
- D.C. households and businesses. Businesses can bring oil-based paint only if very small.
- Hours
- Store hours, per PaintCare. Call first.
- Load limits
- 5 gallons per visit.
- Fees
- Free to drop off.
No spray cans, or unlabeled, leaking or empty containers. The Ward 3 store on Connecticut Avenue dropped out in November 2025, so don't trust an older list for upper Northwest.
29 PaintCare drop-off sites within 12 miles of Washington.
28 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 Maryland
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 Commercial Store
0.8 mi1120 3rd St NE, Washington, DC 20002
- Who
- Households and Businesses in District of Columbia
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams Commercial Store
1.5 mi2511 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009
- Who
- Households and Businesses in District of Columbia
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
WS Jenks & Son
1.9 mi910 Bladensburg Rd NE, Washington, DC 20002
- Who
- Households and Businesses in District of Columbia
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Fragers Hardware
2 mi1115 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003
- Who
- Households and Businesses in District of Columbia
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
McCormick Paints
2.1 mi3124 Mount Pleasant St NW, Washington, DC 20005
- Who
- Households and Businesses in District of Columbia
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
- Notes
- PLEASE CALL AHEAD BEFORE DROPPING OFF YOUR PAINT.
Annie's Ace Hardware
2.2 mi3405 8th St NE, Washington, DC 20017
- Who
- Households and Businesses in District of Columbia
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
RFK Stadium Lot 8
2.8 mi2500 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003
- Who
- Households Only (No Businesses) in District of Columbia
- Hours
- Eventbrite registration will open soon for the following events: Saturday, September 12, 2026, 8 am - 2 pm, Thursday, September 24, 2026, 10 am - 2 pm
Sherwin-Williams
3.2 mi2332 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007
- Who
- Households and Businesses in District of Columbia
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Show 21 more sites
Tenleytown Ace Hardware
4.6 mi4500 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016
- Who
- Households and Businesses in the District of Columbia
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Old Takoma Ace Hardware
4.9 mi7001 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
5.1 mi1823 East-West Hwy, Hyattsville, MD 20783
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Community Forklift
5.2 mi4671 Tanglewood Dr, Hyattsville, MD 20781
- Who
- Households and VSQG Businesses in Maryland
- Hours
- Tuesday - Friday 12 pm - 7 pm, Saturday - Sunday 10 am - 5 pm
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
6.1 mi8230 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
6.3 mi8301 Grubb Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Silver Spring Ace Hardware
6.4 mi815 Wayne Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
6.9 mi5420 St Barnabas Rd, Oxon Hill, MD 20745
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
7.4 mi4809 Auburn Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
7.6 mi7432 Annapolis Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20784
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
8 mi7000 Marlboro Pike, Forestville, MD 20747
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
8.3 mi9104 Baltimore Ave, College Park, MD 20740
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
McCormick Paints
8.9 mi8801 Ashwood Dr, Capitol Heights, MD 20743
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
PPG Paints
9 mi7707 Penn Belt Dr, Forestville, MD 20747
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Strosniders Hardware
9.1 mi10504 Connecticut Ave, Kensington, MD 20895
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Amicus Green Building Center
9.3 mi4080A Howard Ave, Kensington, MD 20895
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
McCormick Paints
10.8 mi5268-M Nicholson Ln, Kensington, MD 20895
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
10.9 mi5528 Nicholson Ln, North Bethesda, MD 20852
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
11.7 mi8847 Branch Ave, Clinton, MD 20735
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
11.8 mi12108 Central Ave, Mitchellville, MD 20721
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
11.9 mi17 Randolph Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20904
- 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 Washington cleanout?4
You have a few cans of latex left from a rowhouse repaint
A D.C. PaintCare store is the fastest free option: 5 gallons per visit, no booking. Call first in case the bin is full; McCormick Paints asks you to phone ahead.
You found oil stain, spray paint and paint thinner in the basement
Stores take the stain, but not spray cans or thinner. Sign up for an RFK Lot 3 event (October 22 or November 14, 2026) and bring it all at once, with proof you live in D.C.
You live in Ward 7 and have 15 gallons
Door-to-door pickup covers Ward 7 households with 10+ gallons. Send the online request and wait for a date. PaintCare made no pickups in 2025, so keep RFK or a store as a backup.
You manage apartments and have 120 gallons of turnover paint
DPW events don't take business waste. PaintCare's large-volume pickup serves property managers with 100+ gallons. Oil-based paint counts only if the business is a very small business.
Washington rules and tips5
THE LOCAL ANSWER
Up to 5 gallons of labeled house paint: a D.C. PaintCare store, like Frager's on Pennsylvania Avenue SE or Tenleytown Ace. Oil paint plus spray cans and solvents: sign up for a DPW event at RFK Lot 3, October 22 or November 14, and bring proof you live in D.C. Fort Totten doesn't take paint.
This guide is for Washington, D.C., not Washington State. D.C. has no walk-in hazardous waste site. DPW holds sign-up events at RFK Stadium, and D.C. PaintCare stores take paint all year.
Fort Totten no longer takes paint
Older advice sends you to Fort Totten Transfer Station, 4900 John McCormack Road NE. It stopped taking household hazardous waste, electronics and shredding in October 2021. It still takes furniture, mattresses and appliances, Tuesday–Saturday.
RFK events: register, then check the lot number
October 22 and November 14 are at Lot 3 (2400 East Capitol Street NE, across from the DC Armory), not September's Lot 8 (2500 Independence Avenue SE). Book one free 30-minute window per car on Eventbrite. A D.C. resident must be in the car. Nothing is taken after 2 p.m.
Check your ward before planning a big load
Households in Wards 2, 4, 7 and 8 with 10+ gallons can get free door-to-door pickup. Be home, with sealed, labeled cans outside; the crew won't come in. PaintCare's 2025 report shows no pickups and ties 2026 service to DOEE approval and cost. Request it before counting on a date.
Spray cans and thinner go to DPW, not a store
No D.C. PaintCare store takes spray cans. DPW events take spray cans, thinner and mineral spirits plus oil and latex paint. With both kinds, one RFK trip beats two.
Contractors and landlords can't use DPW events
DPW events refuse business waste. Businesses can bring latex to D.C. PaintCare stores (5 gallons per visit), and oil-based paint only if very small. With 100+ gallons, ask for free large-volume pickup.
Free pickup programs and other options
PaintCare's D.C. page counts seven year-round drop-offs; its map lists eight stores. Among them: McCormick Paints on Mount Pleasant Street (call first), Annie's Ace on 8th Street NE, W.S. Jenks on Bladensburg Road NE and two Sherwin-Williams commercial stores. Wards 2, 4, 7 and 8 households with 10+ gallons can ask for door-to-door pickup; anyone with 100+ gallons, for large-volume pickup.
Getting your paint ready
Keep cans sealed and labeled; stores refuse unlabeled or leaking cans. For RFK, have your Eventbrite ticket and a license, utility bill or lease. Tape loose lids, keep paint upright, and pack shredding and electronics separately.
Full preparation checklist →Washington questions5
Is this the guide for Washington State?
No. This page covers Washington, D.C. Washington State has its own PaintCare program and county sites; see our Washington State guides.
Can I drop paint at Fort Totten Transfer Station?
No. DPW's Fort Totten page says household hazardous waste isn't taken there. Paint goes to a PaintCare store or a DPW event you register for.
Does DPW take latex paint at its events?
Yes. DPW takes both latex and oil-based paint, though it also points latex owners to PaintCare stores.
Can I bring paint from my Maryland or Virginia home?
DPW events are for D.C. residents only. D.C. PaintCare stores are listed for D.C. households and businesses.
Do I need to live in a certain ward for door-to-door pickup?
Yes. Door-to-door pickup is only listed for households in Wards 2, 4, 7 and 8 with 10 or more gallons.
Sources and how we checked14
We checked DPW, Eventbrite, the D.C. environment department (DOEE) and PaintCare's D.C. pages, its 2025 report and October 6 map data. The November 14 listing says 8 a.m.–2 p.m. but its text says 10–2. PaintCare's map still shows September's Lot 8 events. The door-to-door page names Clean Harbors, but the 2025 report says MXI hauls and made zero pickups that year, so it may not be running. We didn't check store hours or bin space.
Checked October 6, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
PaintCare District of Columbia ↗PaintCare DC door-to-door paint pickup (wards 2, 4, 7, 8) ↗DC DOEE paint stewardship ↗DC DPW household hazardous waste, e-cycling and shredding ↗DC DPW special waste collection events (Eventbrite) ↗DC DPW special waste event, Oct 22, 2026, RFK Lot 3 ↗DC DPW special waste event, Nov 14, 2026, RFK Lot 3 ↗DC DPW Fort Totten Transfer Station resident drop-off ↗DC DPW 2021 notice moving HHW out of Fort Totten ↗PaintCare DC 2025 annual report ↗PaintCare drop-off site locator ↗PaintCare large-volume pickup ↗PaintCare business limits ↗PaintCare product eligibility ↗
