Drop it off free
37 free paint drop-off sites within 12 miles.
- Lemoi Ace HardwarePaint store0.5 mi
- Sherwin-WilliamsPaint store0.5 mi
- JC Licht Paint & DecorPaint store1.2 mi
Evanston, IL Paint Disposal
Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Evanston.
NOW AVAILABLE IN EVANSTON
Paint recycling pickup. Book online.
Book a pickup From $89 for up to 5 gallons · Online booking coming soon
All drop-off locations in and near Evanston39
Start with these
SWALCO household chemical waste drop-off (Gurnee)
1311 N. Estes Street, Gurnee, IL 60031
- Accepts
- Latex, acrylic, water-based, alkyd and oil-based house paint, stain, varnish, sealer, spray paint, solvents and thinner, plus most household chemicals.
- Who can use it
- Households only. SWALCO says it serves Illinois residents; PaintCare lists it for Illinois households, not businesses.
- Hours
- By appointment, about twice a month all year (once in December). Book online; no walk-ins.
- Load limits
- No container over a standard 5-gallon bucket, and no more than 20 gallons of any one type of waste. PaintCare lists 20 gallons per visit.
- Fees
- No fee listed for households.
Appointment required. No empty or dried paint, and no paint mixed with kitty litter. Illinois EPA lists 847-336-9340 for SWALCO; PaintCare lists 847-377-4950.
Lemoi Ace Hardware — downtown Evanston
1008 Davis Street, Evanston, IL 60201
- Accepts
- Latex and oil-based house paint, stain and varnish in labeled original containers up to 5 gallons. No spray cans.
- Who can use it
- Illinois households and businesses, according to PaintCare.
- Hours
- PaintCare says the store takes paint during regular hours. Call for hours and bin space.
- Load limits
- 5 gallons per visit.
- Fees
- No drop-off charge.
PaintCare lists this store; the City of Evanston doesn't, because its paint page is older than PaintCare. Evanston's other two PaintCare stores are on Green Bay Road.
37 PaintCare drop-off sites within 12 miles of Evanston.
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.
Lemoi Ace Hardware
0.5 mi1008 Davis St, Evanston, IL 60201
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
0.5 mi1911 Green Bay Rd, Evanston, IL 60201
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
1.2 mi2538 Green Bay Rd, Evanston, IL 60201
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
2.8 mi4538 Oakton St, Skokie, IL 60076
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
3.3 mi614 Green Bay Rd, Kenilworth, IL 60043
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
3.8 mi6158 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60659
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
4.2 mi5926 W Dempster St, Morton Grove, IL 60053
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
4.7 mi5424 N Clark S, Chicago, IL 60640
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Show 22 more sites
Sherwin-Williams
4.9 mi5411 N Broadway St, Chicago, IL 60640
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
5.6 mi580 Waukegan Rd, Glenview, IL 60025
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
John W Weiss Ace Hardware Co
5.9 mi1560 Waukegan Rd, Glenview, IL 60025
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
6 mi1835 Waukegan Rd, Glenview, IL 60025
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Norwood Park Ace
6.4 mi5907 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
6.8 mi4201 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60641
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
7.1 mi3445 N Kimball Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
7.5 mi5301 N Harlem Ave, Chicago, IL 60656
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
7.6 mi3311 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60657
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Paint & Decor
7.6 mi3234 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60657
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht Oriole Park Ace
7.6 mi7230 W Foster Ave, Chicago, IL 60656
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
7.8 mi2917 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Olsons Ace Hardware
7.9 mi700 N Northwest Hwy, Park Ridge, IL 60068
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
8.2 mi4510 N Harlem Ave, Norridge, IL 60706
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
8.4 mi2902 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
JC Licht
8.7 mi2160 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
8.8 mi1398 Meadow Rd, Northbrook, IL 60062
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Northbrook Ace Hardware
8.9 mi1941 Cherry Ln, Northbrook, IL 60062
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
8.9 mi2070 N Clybourn Ave #D, Chicago, IL 60614
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Norridge Ace Hardware Home Center
9.1 mi8330 W Lawrence Ave, Norridge, IL 60706
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
9.3 mi1654 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
10.4 mi1353 Lee St, Des Plaines, IL 60018
- 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 Evanston cleanout?4
A few gallons of latex from a bedroom repaint
Use one of Evanston's three PaintCare stores, 5 gallons or less per visit, cans labeled and sealed. Don't dry paint you plan to recycle.
Clearing a garage of latex, oil stain, spray paint and solvent
Book SWALCO in Gurnee and bring it all at once, up to 20 gallons of each type. Naperville and Goose Island take the solvents and spray cans but not the latex.
You'd rather go to Goose Island because it's closer
It's about 10 miles, but Chicago's page speaks to Chicagoans and refuses latex and business waste. Call 312-744-3060 to ask. If the answer is no, go to Gurnee or Naperville.
A neighbor says SWANCC will pick it up from home
Only six towns signed up, and Evanston isn't one. It also costs $81 per pickup and refuses latex.
Evanston rules and tips4
THE LOCAL ANSWER
House paint: one of three Evanston PaintCare stores (Lemoi Ace on Davis Street; JC Licht or Sherwin-Williams on Green Bay Road), 5 gallons per visit. Spray paint, thinner or mixed chemicals: book SWALCO in Gurnee (it takes latex too) or use Naperville on a weekend. Both take any Illinois resident. Goose Island says it serves Chicagoans, so call first.
Evanston doesn't collect household hazardous waste, and its web page on it is older than PaintCare. House paint now goes to one of three PaintCare stores in town. Chemicals mean a drive to Chicago, Gurnee or Naperville.
The city page is years out of date
Evanston's page lists Goose Island, Naperville and Rockford with old phone numbers, says to dry latex, and never mentions PaintCare. SWANCC, the regional waste agency Evanston belongs to, now sends paint to PaintCare. Trust the city page on one point only: the city doesn't collect chemicals.
Will Goose Island take you?
Evanston and SWANCC list Goose Island, but Chicago's page mentions only Chicagoans. Naperville and SWALCO clearly take any Illinois resident. Call Goose Island (312-744-3060) before driving in with a trunk of chemicals.
SWANCC's home pickup skips Evanston
SWANCC's paid Clean Harbors home pickup ($81 per pickup in 2026) serves only Arlington Heights, Glencoe, Lincolnwood, Skokie, Wheeling and Winnetka. Evanston hasn't signed up, and the pickup refuses latex anyway.
Gurnee takes it all in one trip
SWALCO in Gurnee takes latex, oil-based paint, spray paint and solvents at one appointment, up to 20 gallons of each type. It's about 25 miles north, but it clears a whole shelf. Naperville and Goose Island would hand the latex back.
Free pickup programs and other options
PaintCare's list below shows Evanston's three stores plus more in Skokie and Chicago. For 100 gallons or more, like a building's paint room or a contractor's stock, ask PaintCare for a free pickup. SWANCC suggests giving good paint to schools, theater groups or churches, and drying small amounts of latex for the trash. Evanston's hauler is Groot.
Getting your paint ready
Keep paint in its original labeled can, lid tight. PaintCare and SWALCO won't take unlabeled or leaking cans, and SWALCO won't take paint mixed with kitty litter. For SWALCO, book first and keep each type under 20 gallons. Box spray cans and thinner separately; no PaintCare store takes them.
Full preparation checklist →Evanston questions5
Does Evanston pick up old paint?
No. The city doesn't collect hazardous waste. Take paint to a PaintCare store or a hazardous waste site.
Is there a latex drop-off in Evanston itself?
Yes. PaintCare lists Lemoi Ace Hardware at 1008 Davis Street, JC Licht at 2538 Green Bay Road and Sherwin-Williams at 1911 Green Bay Road, each 5 gallons per visit. Call to check space.
Where do I take spray paint and thinner?
A hazardous waste site: SWALCO (Gurnee, by appointment) or Naperville (weekends), which take any Illinois resident. Goose Island in Chicago takes them too, but check that it serves Evanston residents.
Can I use the Ecology Center on McCormick Boulevard?
No. The city lists it for small electronics, fluorescent bulbs and holiday lights, not paint or chemicals.
My landlord left 40 cans in the basement. What now?
PaintCare stores take 5 gallons per visit; SWALCO takes up to 20 gallons of each type from households. An owner clearing a rental should ask PaintCare about business drop-off or a pickup.
Sources and how we checked13
Checked October 6, 2026. PaintCare lists three Evanston stores at 5 gallons each. Still open: whether Goose Island serves non-Chicagoans. We didn't read SWALCO's appointment calendar, and Illinois EPA and PaintCare list different SWALCO phones. We found no Evanston place that reuses paint.
Checked October 6, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
City of Evanston special collection services ↗SWANCC chemicals and HHW (at-home pickup towns, drop-off list) ↗SWANCC paint guidance ↗SWANCC member communities (Evanston hauler and contacts) ↗SWALCO household chemical waste program ↗SWALCO accepted and unacceptable items ↗Chicago Household Chemicals & Computer Recycling Facility ↗Naperville Household Hazardous Waste Facility ↗Illinois EPA fall 2026 one-day HHW schedule (Aug. 13, 2026 release) ↗PaintCare Illinois ↗PaintCare drop-off site locator ↗PaintCare product eligibility ↗PaintCare large-volume pickup ↗
