Drop it off free
44 free paint drop-off sites within 12 miles.
- Sherwin-WilliamsPaint store1 mi
- JC Licht Bridgeport AcePaint store1.1 mi
- Sherwin-WilliamsPaint store1.9 mi
Chicago, IL Paint Disposal
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All drop-off locations in and near Chicago46
Start with these
Chicago Household Chemicals & Computer Recycling Facility (Goose Island)
1150 N. North Branch Street, Chicago, IL 60642
- Accepts
- Oil-based paint, spray paint, thinner, stain, stripper, sealer, mineral spirits and most household chemicals. No latex, acrylic or water-based paint.
- Who can use it
- Any Chicagoan, for household items. No business, farm or institution waste; businesses and large groups must hire a private disposal company.
- Hours
- Tuesday 7 a.m.–noon, Thursday 2–7 p.m., and the first Saturday of the month 8 a.m.–3 p.m. (November 7 and December 5 remain in 2026). When checked on October 6, 2026, the city warned repairs may change the schedule.
- Load limits
- No paint limit listed. Come only during open hours; don't leave anything at the gate.
- Fees
- No fee listed for residents.
Chemicals go to the blue building (the yellow one is electronics). Staff check every item and hand back what they won't take, so leave latex at home. Illinois EPA and SWANCC list 312-744-3060; Evanston and Will County list 312-744-7672.
Naperville Regional Household Hazardous Waste Facility
156 Fort Hill Drive, Naperville, IL 60540
- Accepts
- Oil-based paint and stains, aerosols, solvents, flammables, auto fluids, pesticides, batteries, propane up to 20 lb. No latex.
- Who can use it
- Any Illinois resident. No business waste.
- Hours
- Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m.–2 p.m., except holidays.
- Load limits
- Two site carts (44 x 25 in.) per household.
- Fees
- Free.
Stay in your car; staff unload.
44 PaintCare drop-off sites within 12 miles of Chicago.
30 paint stores and 0 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.
Rules most stores here share
Who: Households and Businesses in Illinois
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.
Sherwin-Williams
1 mi3140 S Ashland Av, Chicago, IL 60608
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Bridgeport Ace
1.1 mi3145 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60608
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
1.9 mi2101 S Allport St, Chicago, IL 60608
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
3.1 mi2940 S Cicero Ave, Cicero, IL 60804
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams Commercial
3.2 mi920 S Jefferson St, Chicago, IL 60607
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
3.2 mi1061 W Jackson Blvd #D, Chicago, IL 60607
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
3.5 mi18 S Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht River North Ace
4.4 mi440 N Orleans St, Chicago, IL 60654
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Show 22 more sites
Sherwin-Williams
5.1 mi6012 S Archer Ave, Chicago, IL 60638
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
5.2 mi1654 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht
5.8 mi2160 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
5.8 mi2070 N Clybourn Ave #D, Chicago, IL 60614
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
6.1 mi3300 S Harlem Ave, Riverside, IL 60546
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
6.1 mi2902 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
6.5 mi901 Madison Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
6.8 mi2917 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
7.1 mi8517 S Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL 60652
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Olsons Ace Hardware
7.3 mi1137 Chicago Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
7.4 mi3234 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60657
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
7.5 mi3311 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60657
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
7.5 mi3445 N Kimball Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
7.9 mi7051 W North Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
8 mi1701 N Harlem Ave, Chicago, IL 60707
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
8.1 mi2641 W 95th St, Evergreen Park, IL 60805
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
8.1 mi5525 W 87th St, Oak Lawn, IL 60453
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
8.4 mi7055 W 79th St, Burbank, IL 60459
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
9 mi4201 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60641
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
9 mi9100 S Stony Island Ave, Chicago, IL 60617
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
9.1 mi9540 E Ogden Ave, Brookfield, IL 60513
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
9.8 mi10 N Ashland Ave, La Grange, IL 60525
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Which option fits your Chicago cleanout?4
Only latex wall paint from a condo repaint
Skip Goose Island; it hands latex back. Take labeled cans to a PaintCare store, 5 gallons per visit at most. Call first, since an open store may lack bin space.
Basement cleanout: oil stain, mineral spirits, spray cans and latex
Split it. Stain, thinner and spray cans go to Goose Island on a Tuesday, Thursday or first Saturday. Latex goes to a PaintCare store, and so can the stain if it's still in its labeled can.
A painting company finishing a Chicago job
Goose Island won't take business waste, but Illinois businesses can bring oil-based paint as well as latex to PaintCare. At 100 gallons or more, ask for PaintCare's free pickup. Thinner and solvents need a private hazardous waste hauler.
You can't make a weekday time
Goose Island's only weekend hours are the first Saturday. Naperville's site, roughly 25–30 miles west, is open every weekend for any Illinois resident's oil-based paint and chemicals. Like Goose Island, it won't take latex.
Chicago rules and tips4
THE LOCAL ANSWER
Latex and oil-based house paint: any of Chicago's 26 PaintCare stores, 5 gallons per visit. Spray paint, thinner, stripper and other chemicals: Goose Island, 1150 N. North Branch Street, open Tuesday 7–noon, Thursday 2–7 and the first Saturday of each month 8–3 (November 7 and December 5 remain in 2026). Goose Island won't take latex.
Chicago's chemical drop-off on Goose Island won't take latex, the most common leftover paint. Since December 2025, dozens of PaintCare stores in the city take house paint free. So split the load: latex to a store, thinner and spray cans to Goose Island.
The city page still says to dry out latex
Goose Island's page says latex costs too much to handle and suggests drying it with kitty litter for the trash. That advice is older than PaintCare, which reached Illinois in December 2025. Drying small amounts is still fine, but sealed liquid paint can go to a PaintCare store free. Once litter is mixed in, PaintCare and SWALCO won't take it.
Short hours, and repairs under way
Goose Island opens Tuesday mornings, Thursday late afternoons and the first Saturday of the month. A repair notice on the city page warns the schedule may change. The October 3 session has passed; November 7 and December 5 remain. Otherwise, Naperville's site at 156 Fort Hill Drive takes any Illinois resident's oil-based paint every weekend.
Take what you want from the swap room
Usable items left at Goose Island, like cleaners and car fluids, may go into a swap room that anyone can use during open hours. Ask staff to let you in, and check it before you buy a new can for a project.
The South Holland county site hasn't opened
Cook County and South Suburban College are building a household hazardous waste site at 15800 State Street, South Holland. The county said in May 2025 it would open that fall, but the college page still says coming soon and Illinois EPA doesn't list it. Until it opens, Goose Island is Cook County's only year-round chemical drop-off on that list.
Free pickup programs and other options
Any Chicago PaintCare store takes latex and oil-based house paint, most at 5 gallons per visit; see the list below. Illinois businesses can bring oil-based paint too, unlike in most PaintCare states. At 100 gallons or more, ask PaintCare for a free pickup.
Getting your paint ready
Sort into three boxes: labeled liquid house paint for a PaintCare store; spray cans, thinner and stripper for Goose Island; and anything unlabeled or leaking, which PaintCare won't take. Goose Island staff check each item and hand back what they refuse, so keep latex out of that box.
Full preparation checklist →Chicago questions5
Does Goose Island take latex paint?
No. It refuses latex, acrylic and water-based paint. Take sealed, labeled latex to a PaintCare store, or dry a small amount for the trash.
Can a contractor use Goose Island?
No. It's only for Chicago households; businesses must hire a private disposal company. Illinois businesses can still use PaintCare stores for paint, or PaintCare's free pickup at 100 gallons or more.
Where do spray paint cans go?
Goose Island takes spray paint and other aerosol cans. PaintCare stores don't.
Is there a Saturday option?
Goose Island opens only the first Saturday of the month (November 7 and December 5 remain in 2026). Naperville is open every weekend, 9 a.m.–2 p.m., to any Illinois resident, but it also refuses latex.
Can I bring paint in a 5-gallon bucket I filled myself?
Not at PaintCare, which needs the original labeled container, 5 gallons or smaller. Ask Goose Island about oil-based paint in other containers before you go.
Sources and how we checked13
Checked October 6, 2026. PaintCare lists 26 Chicago stores at 5 gallons each. Still open: Goose Island's page gives no phone or paint limit, and other agencies list two numbers. It doesn't say how big or long the repairs are. South Holland has no opening date.
Checked October 6, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
Chicago Household Chemicals & Computer Recycling Facility ↗Illinois EPA household hazardous waste collection sites ↗Illinois EPA fall 2026 one-day HHW schedule (Aug. 13, 2026 release) ↗Illinois EPA paint guidance ↗Naperville Household Hazardous Waste Facility ↗PaintCare Illinois ↗PaintCare drop-off site locator ↗PaintCare product eligibility ↗PaintCare business limits (Illinois oil-based exception) ↗PaintCare large-volume pickup ↗South Suburban College / Cook County HHW facility (coming soon) ↗Cook County groundbreaking release for the South Holland HHW facility (May 2025) ↗SWANCC chemicals and HHW (at-home pickup towns, drop-off list) ↗
