Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Kailua-Kona.
74-625 Hale Mākaʻi Place, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
County pages disagree. The reuse page says Kealakehe takes usable latex paint, but the paint page and hazardous waste page name only the Hilo, Kea‘au and Waimea reuse centers for latex. Call Transfer Station Thrift Store at 808-747-9373 before you load up. The county’s hours table lists the transfer station itself at 74-626 Hale Mākaʻi Place, open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
2026 events were held at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center parking lot, 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Hwy, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740; the site for the next event isn’t announced yet
Entry in 2026 was via Ane Keohokālole Highway. Pour anything you want to keep into a disposable, spill-proof container first, because nothing is handed back. West Hawai‘i residents who can’t wait have to pay a private hazmat company.
73-4161 Ulu Wini Place, Bay 1, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Habitat asks donors to list items through its online form or call ext. 109. The county’s paint page lists the Kona ReStore as a latex paint donation spot; Habitat’s own list says paint must be unopened. Hawai‘i has no PaintCare program, so this is a donation, not a recycling drop-off.
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.
73-4161 Ulu Wini Place, Bay 1, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Kawaihae Rd., Waimea, HI 96743
67-1315 AlaOhi Rd, Waimea, HI 96743
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
If it’s still good, call the Kealakehe Reuse Center at 808-747-9373 to make sure it’s taking paint, then drop it off between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. If it’s gone bad, dry it solid and put it in the trash.
Keep both sealed, labeled and out of the sun. Bring them to the county’s next Kona collection once the date is posted; the tentative schedule says “February 2027 TBD.” You can’t landfill them in the meantime.
Donate them to the Kona ReStore on Ulu Wini Place. Habitat takes paint that’s unopened and not expired. Call 808-331-8010 first.
A rental business can’t use county events or reuse centers. Hire a company from the state Department of Health hazardous waste transporter list. Unopened paint can still go to the ReStore, which accepts business donations.
Dry unusable latex solid (kitty litter, hardener or air) and put it in your trash. For good latex, call the Kealakehe Reuse Center (808-747-9373) at 74-625 Hale Mākaʻi Place, daily 8 to 4; the county’s reuse page says it takes usable latex. Keep oil-based paint, stain and thinner for the county’s next Kona collection; its tentative schedule says “February 2027 TBD.”
In Kailua-Kona, on the west side of Hawai‘i Island, there’s no year-round drop-off for oil-based paint. The county’s free household hazardous waste collection, held in 2026 at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, is on its tentative schedule as “February 2027 TBD.” Usable latex may go to the Kealakehe Reuse Center, and unopened cans to the Kona ReStore. This is Hawai‘i County, not Oahu, so Honolulu’s rules don’t apply.
The county’s reuse page says the Kealakehe Reuse Center, at the Kealakehe Recycling & Transfer Station, takes usable latex paint from households, daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. But the county’s paint page lists only Hilo, Kea‘au and Waimea for latex. Call Transfer Station Thrift Store at 808-747-9373 before you bring cans. It closes on Ironman World Championship day.
The Keauhou Reuse Center, at the Keauhou Recycling & Transfer Station (79-7098 Māmalahoa Highway in the county’s hours table), is also listed as taking usable latex. The county lists it as open daily 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and says that beginning Oct. 23, 2026, it will open Wednesday through Sunday. Call Transfer Station Thrift Store at 808-313-9058 before you go.
Habitat for Humanity’s Kona ReStore, 73-4161 Ulu Wini Place, Bay 1, takes paint only if it’s unopened and not expired. Businesses can donate here too, unlike at the county reuse centers. Call 808-331-8010 (ext. 109 for donations).
Oil-based paint, varnish and stain can’t go to the landfill. Kona’s 2026 collections were held Feb. 14 and Aug. 15 at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center parking lot, 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway; both are over. The county’s tentative schedule lists the next Kona event as “February 2027 TBD,” and the county will post the date and site on its website first.
If you can’t make the Kona event, the county’s tentative schedule lists a Waimea collection for Saturday, March 6, 2027, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Waimea District Park parking lot. The same rules apply: households only, no latex. The county notes the schedule depends on contracts and funding.
Hawai‘i has no PaintCare program, so paint stores don’t take it back. Can’t keep oil-based paint in a Kona garage until the next event? Paid private hazmat firms are the county’s answer; AKW Environmental (808-430-2339) is the one its household page names for various hazardous materials. Kona contractors, property managers and other businesses can’t use county events or reuse centers; they must hire a hazmat company from the state Department of Health’s transporter list.
Check each latex can: if it stirs smooth and smells normal, it’s a donation; if it’s skinned over, lumpy or rusty, dry it. Leave the lid off in shade with good airflow, away from keiki and pets. For oil-based paint, keep the original labeled can tightly closed and stored out of the sun until the next county collection. Nothing you bring to an event comes back.
Full preparation checklist →Dry unusable latex and trash it. Call the Kealakehe Reuse Center (808-747-9373) about usable latex. Hold oil-based paint for the county’s next Kona collection, which its tentative schedule lists as “February 2027 TBD.”
Not as rubbish. The county says oil-based paint can’t go to the landfill and latex must be solid first. The reuse center on site may take usable latex; call first.
No date is set. The county’s tentative schedule lists Kailua-Kona as “February 2027 TBD.” The Feb. 14 and Aug. 15, 2026, Kona events have passed.
No. Habitat’s list says paint must be unopened and not expired.
No. Those are City and County of Honolulu events on Oahu. Hawai‘i County runs its own collections for Big Island households.
October 16, 2026: read the County of Hawai‘i Department of Environmental Management pages on reuse centers (Kealakehe and Keauhou hours, the Keauhou schedule change), paint, household hazardous waste (rules and 2027 schedule), facility hours and business hazardous waste; Big Island Video News (Aug. 1, 2026) and West Hawaii Today (Jan. 29, 2026) for the 2026 Kona events, both from county releases; Habitat for Humanity Hawai‘i Island’s ReStores page; and PaintCare’s program states. PaintCare record 15316 (Kona ReStore) is flagged program:false, since the state has no PaintCare program; we used it only for its hours and can-condition note. Unresolved: county pages disagree on whether Kealakehe and Keauhou take latex paint (reuse page yes; paint and hazardous waste pages name only Hilo, Kea‘au and Waimea), so we say call first. The reuse page gives Kealakehe as 74-625 Hale Mākaʻi Place; the hours table gives the transfer station as 74-626. Kona ReStore hours differ between the county and PaintCare’s data; Habitat doesn’t post them. The 2027 Kona date and site aren’t set (“February 2027 TBD”). The Keauhou change to Wednesday through Sunday is dated Oct. 23, 2026, on the county reuse page; recheck after that date.
Checked October 16, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
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