Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Dalton.
4189 Old Dixie Hwy SE, Dalton, GA 30721
Open only one Saturday a month. At the Old Dixie Hwy. entrance, drive down the middle lane and turn right at the sign for Bagged Waste; the hazardous waste building has green trim. CFLs, fluorescent tubes, compressed gas and ammunition are not taken. The Authority bans waste from outside Whitfield County at its sites.
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.
4189 Old Dixie Hwy SE, Dalton, GA 30721
5529 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga, TN 37343
412 Lavender Dr, Rome, GA 30165
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Sort out anything leaking or unlabeled. Load the rest, under 220 pounds, and drive to Old Dixie Hwy. on the third Saturday between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Follow the Bagged Waste sign to the green-trim building.
Make sure it's solid all the way through. Then call Public Works at 706-278-7077 or use SeeClickFix to schedule a bulky-item pickup. The city picks up up to two cubic yards every two weeks for free at single-family homes. It won't take buckets of 5 gallons or more.
Dry latex at home with kitty litter or a hardener so the city can pick it up as a bulky item. Hold oil-based paint, thinner and stain for the next third Saturday; those don't dry safely.
The hazardous waste day takes household waste only. The city's bulky pickup is only for homeowners doing their own work; contractors must haul their own waste. Call the landfill scale house at 706-277-3389 to ask what commercial loads it takes and what they cost.
Take liquid latex or oil-based paint to the Dalton-Whitfield household hazardous waste building at 4189 Old Dixie Hwy. SE on the third Saturday of the month, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. It's free for Whitfield County residents, up to 220 pounds per vehicle. Never put wet paint at the curb in Dalton; the city only picks up dried paint, and only after you schedule it.
In Dalton and the rest of Whitfield County, Georgia, liquid paint goes to one place on one day: the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority's hazardous waste building at the Old Dixie Hwy. landfill, open the third Saturday of each month. It takes latex and oil-based paint for free. On other days, City of Dalton homes can set dried paint out with a scheduled bulky-item pickup.
The hazardous waste building opens only on the third Saturday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The landfill and convenience center around it keep longer hours, but paint drop-off is listed only for the third Saturday. Mark the third Saturday on your calendar and store paint in a cool, dry place until then.
Enter the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill and Convenience Center, take the middle lane, and turn right at the sign that says Bagged Waste. The hazardous waste building is the one with green trim. Call 706-277-2545 with questions.
The City of Dalton lists dried paint as an item its crews will pick up with bulky waste. Since August 17, 2020, you must get approval first: call Public Works at 706-278-7077 or use SeeClickFix. Pickup alternates between the north and south parts of the city. The service is for single-family homes only; apartments get no bulky pickup. The city also won't take plastic pails or buckets of 5 gallons or more, so a dried 5-gallon bucket of paint can't go out this way. Liquid paint, wet paint and other hazardous materials are on the city's do-not-pick-up list.
The Westside center in Rocky Face, the McGaughey Chapel center in Cohutta and the M.L. King center in Dalton take trash and recycling but not paint. Every Whitfield County household brings paint to Old Dixie Hwy. on the third Saturday.
The hazardous waste day is for Whitfield County residents only, and the Authority has banned waste from outside the county since August 15, 2022. If you live in Chatsworth or across the Tennessee line, use your own county's program.
Georgia has no PaintCare program, so paint stores don't take old paint back for free. Your choices are the monthly hazardous waste Saturday, drying latex for the city's bulky pickup, or giving away paint you can still use. The Greater Dalton Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 2303 Chattanooga Rd. takes building materials, but its page doesn't mention paint; call 706-272-3336 before you bring any. Businesses can't use the hazardous waste day. Commercial customers go to the Old Dixie Hwy. landfill, which treats some loads as restricted waste that needs approval first. Call the landfill scale house at 706-277-3389 to ask what it takes and what it costs.
Keep paint in the original can with the label on. The Authority turns away leaking cans, unlabeled containers and cans whose contents don't match the label. Keep the total under 220 pounds per vehicle. To dry latex for city pickup, leave the lid off or stir in kitty litter or a paint hardener until it is solid.
Full preparation checklist →The third Saturday of every month, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 4189 Old Dixie Hwy. SE. That's the only drop-off time listed.
Yes. The hazardous waste facility lists both latex and oil-based paint, along with varnish and paint thinner.
The city lists dried paint as a bulky item. Get approval from Public Works (706-278-7077 or SeeClickFix) before you set it out. Liquid paint is not picked up.
No. It's free for Whitfield County residents, up to 220 pounds per vehicle.
No. The Authority doesn't take business or commercial waste at the hazardous waste facility.
Checked October 16, 2026: the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority's household hazardous waste page (third Saturday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.; latex and oil-based paint; 220-pound limit; label rules; directions), its convenience center page (hours, fees, county-only rule), landfill page, holiday schedule and home page (moratorium on out-of-county waste since August 15, 2022); the City of Dalton's bulky items policy (dried paint allowed, liquid paint prohibited, advance approval since August 17, 2020), garbage policy and Public Works contact page; the Greater Dalton Habitat ReStore page; Georgia EPD's household hazardous waste page; and PaintCare's listing for the facility. We do not list future third-Saturday dates because the Authority doesn't publish them. Unresolved: whether the hazardous waste day moves when a holiday falls nearby; whether the ReStore takes paint; how the city wants dried paint packed for pickup. Peer review (October 16, 2026) added the city's single-family-only rule and its refusal of 5-gallon buckets, the full holiday list, and the landfill scale house number (706-277-3389) for commercial questions. The hazardous waste page says Whitfield County residents only but its date notice also names City of Dalton residents; both are in Whitfield County, so we treat that as consistent.
Checked October 16, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
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