Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Coeur d'Alene.
3330 N Ramsey Rd, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815
Tell the inbound scale house you have hazardous waste, even a small amount. At the hazardous waste area, turn off your engine, don’t smoke, stay in your vehicle and tell the attendant what you have and where it is; the attendant removes it or tells you how to unload. Don’t leave anything outside the gate. The free exchange shelf here can have latex paint, oil-based paint and stain: Kootenai County residents 18+ sign a waiver, up to 5 items a day, 10 minutes, no resale. The county handbook lists the administration office at 3650 N. Ramsey Rd., on the same site.
15580 W Prairie Ave, Post Falls, ID 83854
Near N. Pleasantview Road and Prairie Avenue. Check in at the scale house, then stay in your car at the hazardous waste area. It has the same free exchange shelf as Ramsey (18+, waiver, 5 items a day).
3 paint stores and 2 hazardous waste sites, 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.
Who: Households and Businesses in Washington
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.
3650 N. Ramsey Rd, Coeur D'Alene, ID 83815
15580 W Prairie Ave, Post Falls, ID 83854
3941 N Sullivan Rd, Spokane, WA 99216
328 N Sullivan Rd, Spokane Valley, WA 99037
503 N Pines Rd, Spokane, WA 99206
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
That’s over the 10-gallon daily cap. Take 10 to Ramsey on Wednesday and the rest to Prairie on Friday, or come back to Ramsey on Saturday.
Leave the paint at home. Hazardous waste is only taken on collection days, and items left outside the gate aren’t allowed. Come back Wednesday.
Ask at the hazardous waste area about the exchange shelf. It’s free for adults who sign a waiver, up to 5 items a day, but stock isn’t guaranteed.
Rental paint from a business isn’t allowed in the free program. The county suggests Safety-Kleen at 509-220-3432 for commercial hazardous waste.
Bring paint to the Ramsey Transfer Station, 3330 N. Ramsey Rd., on a Wednesday or Saturday between 8 and 4; it’s free for Kootenai County homes, up to 10 gallons a day. Tell the scale house you have hazardous waste. The Prairie station in Post Falls takes it Fridays and Saturdays.
In Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, leftover paint goes to Kootenai County’s free household hazardous waste drop-off at the Ramsey Transfer Station on N. Ramsey Road, open for hazardous waste on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The county’s Prairie Transfer Station in Post Falls takes it Fridays and Saturdays.
Ramsey takes paint Wednesday and Saturday 8–4; Prairie takes it Friday and Saturday 8–4. The transfer stations open every day for trash, but paint brought on other days won’t be taken, and you can’t leave it outside the gate.
Each household can drop off up to 10 liquid gallons of hazardous waste per collection day. With more, split it: Ramsey on Wednesday and Prairie on Friday, for example.
At the inbound scale, say you have hazardous waste, even one can. At the hazardous waste area, turn off the engine, stay in your car and tell the attendant what you have and where. Staff take it from there. Bring your driver’s license with your Kootenai County address, or your vehicle registration or tax statement, as proof you live in the county.
Both sites run a free exchange. The county flyer says it can have latex paint, oil-based paint and stain. You must live in Kootenai County, be 18 or older and sign a waiver; up to 5 items a day and 10 minutes.
The program is for residents only. Kootenai County points businesses to Safety-Kleen at 509-220-3432 for hazardous waste.
Idaho has no PaintCare program, so paint stores won’t take paint back for free. Idaho DEQ says latex paint usually isn’t hazardous but leaves home disposal to local programs. Kootenai County’s pages don’t say whether dried latex can go in your garbage, so call 208-446-1430 if you’d rather not drive it in. Usable paint can go to the county exchange shelf, a neighbor or a charity.
Keep paint in its original can with the lid on tight. Don’t mix leftovers together. Empty, dry or leaking cans won’t be taken. Add up your liquids so you stay at 10 gallons or less per day. Know where each can sits in the car so you can tell the attendant.
Full preparation checklist →Wednesday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Other days, take it to Prairie in Post Falls on Friday, or wait for the next collection day.
No. Hazardous waste drop-off is free for Kootenai County residents. Bring proof you live in the county, such as a driver’s license with your Kootenai address.
Yes, as far as the sources show. The county’s pages just say “paints.” PaintCare’s listing for the Prairie site names latex and oil-based paint, and the county’s exchange flyer lists latex paint among products it collects and offers back. Call 208-446-1430 if you want to be sure.
Yes, if you live in Kootenai County. Prairie, on W. Prairie Ave. in Post Falls, may be closer. The county checks proof of residency at the gate.
No. They close New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, and close at 3 p.m. on Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.
October 13, 2026: read Kootenai County Solid Waste’s hazardous materials page, household hazardous waste page, paint FAQ, main solid waste page, facility tour, Material Reuse Program flyer and 2026 user handbook, plus Idaho DEQ’s residential waste page and paint fact sheet, and PaintCare’s non-program listings. PaintCare lists the Ramsey site at 3650 N. Ramsey Rd., which the county handbook says is the administration office; the county FAQ, solid waste page and flyer put the transfer station at 3330 N. Ramsey Rd., so we use that. The handbook lists the proof of residency the county checks (license, registration or tax statement). Latex rests on PaintCare’s Prairie listing and the county reuse flyer; the county’s own pages say only “paints.” The “empty, dry or leaking” rule comes from PaintCare. Unresolved: a City of Coeur d’Alene garbage flyer that search results quoted as saying latex must be dried and isn’t taken at hazardous waste sites now returns a 404, so we don’t tell readers to put dried latex in the trash.
Checked October 13, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
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