Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Valparaiso.
215 E Division Rd, Valparaiso, IN 46383
Oil-based paint and other chemicals don’t go to this event; the district’s calendar lists it as latex paint and tires only.
215 E Division Rd, Valparaiso, IN 46383
Porter County has no permanent site that takes household chemicals; these mobile events are the only option. The district office is at 155 Indiana Ave., Suite 314, Valparaiso, but it is not a drop-off.
340 S Shelby St, Hobart, IN 46342
Hobart is in Lake County, northwest of Valparaiso. It wants paint it can reuse, so dried, frozen or half-empty cans won’t be taken. Recycled paint comes in a putty or grey-beige color.
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 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.
215 E Division Rd, Valparaiso, IN 46383
5201 US-6, Portage, IN 46368
17021 Torrence Ave, Lansing, IL 60438
325 N Halsted St, Chicago Heights, IL 60411
510 Armory Dr, South Holland, IL 60473
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Take it to the Porter County Expo, Gate 3, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Leave oil-based cans at home; this event is latex and tires only.
Leave the lids off and set the cans beside your trash can. Then call 219-462-6174 so Public Works picks them up.
Take them to Hobart’s paint recycling site, 340 S. Shelby St., with your ID. Cans must slosh and not have frozen. Hobart takes paint up to 5 years old; Porter County’s guidelines say under a year, so newer paint is the safer bet.
Porter County’s 2026 collections ended October 10, and there’s no permanent site. Store the cans upright and closed, and watch for the 2027 schedule.
Use the same county events as Valparaiso. Your town’s own trash rules may differ from Valparaiso’s curb pickup, so check with your town.
Bring latex paint to Porter County’s one-day Latex Paint + Tire event on Saturday, October 17, 2026, 9 a.m.–2 p.m., at the Porter County Expo, 215 E. Division Rd. (Gate 3). After that, dry latex and call Valparaiso Public Works (219-462-6174) for curb pickup, or take usable latex to Hobart. Oil-based paint must wait for the county’s 2027 collections.
In Valparaiso, Indiana, Porter County Recycling has no year-round paint drop-off. Instead it runs mobile collections. In 2026, latex paint is taken only at a one-day Latex Paint + Tire event at the Porter County Expo, 215 E. Division Rd., on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Oil-based paint went to the mobile household hazardous waste events, and the last 2026 one was October 10. The rest of the year, Valparaiso city crews pick up dried latex at the curb.
Porter County Recycling stopped taking latex at its regular 2026 collections. The one exception is Saturday, October 17, 2026, 9 a.m.–2 p.m., at the Porter County Expo, Gate 3. That event takes latex paint and tires only.
Valparaiso Public Works picks up latex paint only once it’s dried. Add cat litter or sawdust, set the cans next to your trash can with the lids off, and call 219-462-6174 to have them picked up. No oil-based paint.
The county’s seven 2026 chemical collections ran from May 9 to October 10 and are over. They took oil-based paint, aerosol cans, thinner and stripper. Store those cans tightly closed until the 2027 dates are posted.
The City of Hobart takes usable latex from Lake and Porter County residents at 340 S. Shelby St., weekdays 7 a.m.–2:45 p.m. and Saturdays 8–11:45 a.m. Bring ID. Hobart turns away frozen paint and paint over 5 years old. Porter County’s guidelines also ask for gallon cans more than half full and paint less than a year old.
The 2026 collections were held in Valparaiso, Portage, Chesterton and Boone Grove. Residents of Chesterton, Portage, Kouts, Hebron and Burns Harbor use the same county events.
There’s no free store take-back in Indiana. In Valparaiso, latex that Hobart won’t take can be dried and set out for city pickup (call 219-462-6174). Porter County Recycling says dried latex can go in the trash with the lid off and thrown away separately. Never pour paint into a storm drain; the city treats that as pollution. Oil-based paint has no year-round site in Porter County, so keep it until the next county collection. Lake County’s program is for Lake County residents.
Sort latex from oil-based; they go to different places. For the October 17 event, bring latex only, in labeled cans with tight lids. For Hobart, bring full or mostly full gallons that slosh and haven’t frozen, plus ID. To dry latex at home, leave the lid off cans under half full; pour off some paint from fuller cans or mix in non-clumping cat litter.
Full preparation checklist →Saturday, October 17, 2026, 9 a.m.–2 p.m., at the Porter County Expo, 215 E. Division Rd., Valparaiso (Gate 3). It’s the only 2026 date for latex.
Only when it’s dried. Set the open cans next to your trash can and call Public Works at 219-462-6174 to schedule pickup.
To a Porter County Recycling mobile collection. The 2026 events are over, and the county has no permanent site. Check portercountyrecycling.org or call 219-465-3694 for 2027 dates.
Yes, if you live in Lake or Porter County and the paint is usable latex. Bring ID to 340 S. Shelby St. Hobart doesn’t take oil-based paint.
No. Porter County’s collections are for households and don’t take commercial hazardous waste.
October 15, 2026: read Porter County Recycling’s household hazardous waste page (no permanent site, oil-based only in 2026, 30-gallon container limit, no commercial waste), its 2026 calendar PDF (seven HHW collections May 9–October 10 and the October 17 Latex Paint + Tire event at the Expo, Gate 3; office at 155 Indiana Ave., Suite 314), its latex paint page and home page, an Indiana 105 story from October 9, 2026, the City of Hobart paint recycling page, Valparaiso’s trash pickup page (dried latex only, lids off, call 219-462-6174), Valparaiso City Utilities’ pollution page, and PaintCare’s listings. Conflicts: Valparaiso Utilities still says latex is “now also accepted” at county collection sites, which the county’s 2026 rules contradict; Porter County says Hobart sells paint at $5 a gallon and free to nonprofits, while Hobart lists only 5-gallon buckets at $25 (the same $5 a gallon) and doesn’t mention nonprofits; Porter County’s latex guidelines say paint stored over a year isn’t accepted, while Hobart’s page allows up to 5 years. The calendar’s “fees may apply” asterisk is on the May 9 tire collection and August 8 shredding only. A Fix-It Fair on October 17 could not be found on the district’s site, so it was removed. The October 17, 2026 event must be moved to past tense after it happens. Not found: proof-of-residency rules for county events, any latex fee, a business option, and 2027 dates. The Valparaiso Habitat ReStore’s paint policy could not be confirmed, so it is left out.
Checked October 15, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
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