Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Athens.
1005 College Ave, Athens, GA 30601
Households don’t need an appointment. Hours change around holidays, including Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas; closings are posted on the county page and social media.
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.
1005 College Ave, Athens, GA 30601
2480 Athens Hwy, Madison, GA 30650
662 Main St SW, Gainesville, GA 30501
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Bring your student ID: it counts as proof you live here, so you pay the $3 trip fee. Go on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday. The UGA campus bins won’t take paint.
You can still use CHaRM. You pay the $8 trip fee and the same $2 per gallon container. Bring a check or card.
CHaRM’s PaintCare listing says it doesn’t take dried or empty paint cans. Georgia EPD says solid household waste can legally go in the trash, so those cans can go out with your garbage.
That’s a commercial load. Call the Household Hazardous Waste Supervisor at 706-296-7832 to book a delivery; business materials are charged fees. The county also lists private hazardous waste companies.
Take paint to Athens-Clarke County CHaRM, 1005 College Ave, on Tuesday, Friday or Saturday 7 a.m.–1 p.m. or Wednesday noon–6 p.m. You pay $2 per gallon container plus a $3 trip fee ($8 if you live outside the county), by check or card only. No appointment needed for households.
Athens has one of Georgia’s few year-round paint drop-offs: the county’s CHaRM on College Avenue. Households can walk in without an appointment, paint costs $2 per gallon container, and anyone can use it.
CHaRM is open Tuesday, Friday and Saturday mornings (7 a.m.–1 p.m.) and Wednesday afternoon (noon–6 p.m.). It’s closed Monday, Thursday and Sunday. Get there at least 30 minutes before closing.
You pay $2 for each gallon container of paint plus a trip fee: $3 if you live in Athens-Clarke County, $8 if you don’t. Bring an ID, student ID or utility bill to get the $3 rate.
CHaRM takes checks and major credit cards only. No cash and no American Express.
CHaRM x UGA in the Miller Learning Center collects books, film plastic, foam, electronics and batteries. Paint isn’t on its list, so students still need to go to College Avenue.
The county says CHaRM hours change around holidays, including Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Veterans Day. The yearly cleaning closure (fourth week of September) is over for 2026.
Georgia EPD says households may legally put solid waste in the trash, so latex that has fully dried can go out with your garbage. A business with a lot of paint can book CHaRM through the Household Hazardous Waste Supervisor or use one of the private hazardous waste companies the county lists. Georgia has no free PaintCare program.
Bring paint in its original, sealed containers. CHaRM’s PaintCare listing says it won’t take empty, dried-out or leaking cans. Bring ID for the county rate and a check or card. Allow time to unload before the 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. close.
Full preparation checklist →Not if you’re dropping off household paint. Businesses must book with the Household Hazardous Waste Supervisor at 706-296-7832.
Yes. CHaRM is open to anyone, but the trip fee is $8 instead of $3.
Ten 1-gallon cans would be $20 in paint fees plus the $3 or $8 trip fee.
It takes household chemicals at $5 a gallon but no gasoline or fuels. Ask staff where thinner falls.
October 7, 2026: read the Athens-Clarke County CHaRM page, drop-off sites, holiday schedule, CHaRM x UGA and the county’s vendor list, plus Georgia EPD and PaintCare’s locator listing. The county lists paint as one item without saying latex or oil-based; we assume both but didn’t confirm by phone. The 2026 Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Veterans Day CHaRM hours were not posted on the pages we read. No paint limit is published.
Checked October 7, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
