Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Hilo.
1471 Ho‘olaulima Rd, Hilo, HI 96720 (reuse center is before the transfer station, on the makai side)
The county lists Transfer Station Thrift Store, LLC at 808-498-7916 for questions. Junk, rusty or unusable latex doesn’t go here: dry it solid and put it in your regular trash. The county gives no street number for the reuse center; 1471 Ho‘olaulima Road is the transfer station address in the county’s hours table.
2026 events were held at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium parking lot, Hilo, HI (entry via Pi‘ilani Street); the site for the next event isn’t announced yet
Stay in your vehicle; put everything in the trunk or truck bed, labeled and apart from other stuff. The county says it will post dates on its website first and that calling won’t get you dates early.
863 Iolani St, Hilo, HI 96720
Habitat’s page gives 863 Iolani St.; the county’s reuse page says 871 Iolani St. Call first. Don’t leave items outside after hours.
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.
Products: This site does not accept empty, dry or leaking paint containers.
Each listing below shows only what’s different, plus its limit.
863 Iolani St., Hilo, HI 96720
1471 Hoolaulima Rd., Hilo, HI 96720
16-921 Keaau-Pahoa Rd, Keaau, HI 96749
15-1870 Cemetery Rd., Pahoa, HI 96778
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Drop them at the Hilo Reuse Center on Ho‘olaulima Road any day between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. It takes usable latex from households. Make sure the lids are tight and the labels readable.
Don’t donate it. Stir in kitty litter or a paint hardener, or let it air-dry, until it’s solid. Then it goes in your regular rubbish.
These can’t go to the landfill. Store them in labeled, sealed containers until the county announces its next Hilo collection; the tentative schedule says “February 2027 TBD.” The county turns away more than household amounts, such as over 10 gallons or containers bigger than 5 gallons.
Call the Hilo ReStore at 808-935-6677. Habitat takes paint that’s unopened and not expired, and it’s open to households and businesses.
Donate usable latex paint at the Hilo Reuse Center, Ho‘olaulima Rd (before the transfer station, makai side), daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., households only. Dry junk latex solid with kitty litter or air and put it in the trash. Store oil-based paint, stain and thinner for the county’s next Hilo collection; its tentative schedule says “February 2027 TBD,” with no date yet.
In Hilo, on Hawai‘i Island, usable latex paint goes to the county’s Hilo Reuse Center on Ho‘olaulima Road, open daily. Unusable latex gets dried solid and trashed. Oil-based paint, stain and thinner wait for the county’s free household hazardous waste collection, which its tentative schedule lists for Hilo as “February 2027 TBD.” This is Hawai‘i County’s system, not Honolulu’s.
The county’s reuse center sits on Ho‘olaulima Road before the Hilo Recycling & Transfer Station, on the makai side. It takes usable latex and acrylic paint from households, not businesses, and sells latex paint too, so you may find a can for your own project. For questions, the county lists Transfer Station Thrift Store at 808-498-7916.
The county says latex isn’t hazardous in Hawai‘i, but it must be solid before it goes in your rubbish. Mix it with kitty litter or a hardener, or leave the lid off in a ventilated spot. You can also brush it onto cardboard or scrap wood and let it dry. Empty cans are rubbish.
Oil-based paint, varnish and stain can’t go to the landfill. The county takes them free at its household hazardous waste collections. Hilo’s 2026 events were held Feb. 7 and Aug. 8 at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium parking lot; both are over. The county’s tentative schedule lists the next Hilo event as “February 2027 TBD,” and the county says it will post the date on its website first.
Hale Aloha O Hilo Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 863 Iolani St. takes paint only if it’s unopened and not expired. Habitat lists Monday to Friday, 9 to 4, and usually closes the first Wednesday of the month. Call 808-935-6677 first.
The Kea‘au Reuse Center, at the Kea‘au Recycling & Transfer Station, 16-921 Kea‘au-Pāhoa Rd., also takes usable latex from households, daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 808-498-8726. The Pāhoa reuse center is closed after fire damage.
Hawai‘i has no PaintCare program. If you can’t hold oil-based paint for the next event, the county says private companies can take it for a fee and points to the state Department of Health list of hazmat companies. Its household page also lists AKW Environmental (808-430-2339) for various hazardous materials, and names Greg Perry at EnviroServices (808-330-1604), along with the county HazMat Disposal Infoline (808-961-8554), for questions about hazardous items not on the event list. Businesses, farms and nonprofits can’t use county events at all and must hire a company from the state Department of Health hazardous waste transporter list.
Sort cans into three piles: usable latex for the reuse center, junk latex to dry, and oil-based paint, stain and thinner to store for the event. Store event items in labeled, spill-proof cans in a dry, shaded place. At the event, everything goes in your trunk or truck bed and stays separate from other items, and no container comes back.
Full preparation checklist →Usable latex: the Hilo Reuse Center on Ho‘olaulima Road, daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oil-based paint: the county’s household hazardous waste collection, which the county’s tentative schedule lists for Hilo as “February 2027 TBD.”
Yes, once it’s solid. The county says to dry it with kitty litter, a hardener or air before putting it in your rubbish.
No. The county’s events refuse latex and acrylic paint. Take usable latex to a reuse center instead.
No date is set. The county’s tentative schedule lists Hilo as “February 2027 TBD” and says dates will be posted on its website first. The Feb. 7 and Aug. 8, 2026, Hilo events have passed.
No. Both are for households only. Businesses must hire a hazardous waste company.
October 16, 2026: read the County of Hawai‘i Department of Environmental Management pages on paint, household hazardous waste (event rules, accepted and refused items, 2027 schedule), reuse centers, solid waste facility hours and business hazardous waste; Big Island Video News (Aug. 1, 2026) and West Hawaii Today (Jan. 29, 2026) for the 2026 Hilo event dates and site, both reprinting county releases; Habitat for Humanity Hawai‘i Island’s ReStores page; and PaintCare’s program states. PaintCare’s data has records 15319 (Hilo Reuse Center) and 15318 (Hilo ReStore) flagged as not in a PaintCare program; they were leads only, checked against county and Habitat pages. Unresolved: the 2027 Hilo date and site aren’t set; the county says calling won’t get dates early. The ReStore’s address and days differ between Habitat (863 Iolani St., Monday to Friday) and the county (871 Iolani St., Tuesday to Saturday); we lead with Habitat’s. The event page refuses latex and points it to the Hilo, Kea‘au and Waimea reuse centers. The reuse center’s exact street number isn’t given; we use the Hilo transfer station address from the county’s hours table.
Checked October 16, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
