Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Topeka.
131 NE 46th St, Topeka, KS 66617
Pack liquids and solids separately and keep lids tight. Put leaking or flimsy containers in a plastic bag, then in a box with kitty litter or newspaper, and label the box. Carry everything in the trunk or truck bed.
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.
131 NE 46th St, Topeka, KS 66617
2201 Kresge Rd, Lawrence, KS 66049
Jefferson St, Oskaloosa, KS 66066
219 Iowa St, Alma, KS 66401
2017 S Elm St, Ottawa, KS 66067
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Use the first-Saturday collection, 9 a.m.-noon. Remember there's none in January or July.
Box up the paint, stain and thinner, keeping latex and oil-based apart, and bring it all to 46th Street on a weekday. Bring any old electronics too; only CRT screens cost $40.
Both are in Shawnee County, so you can use the 46th Street facility like Topeka residents.
PaintCare's listing says the Shawnee County site is for Shawnee County households. Call Jefferson County's program in Oskaloosa (785-403-0659) first.
Take latex or oil-based paint to the Shawnee County Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 131 NE 46th St., Monday-Thursday 7-5 or Friday 7-3. It's also open the first Saturday of each month, 9-noon, except January and July. Cans that still have paint in them can't go in your trash cart.
In Topeka, Kansas, paint goes to the Shawnee County Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 131 NE 46th Street. It takes latex and oil-based paint, stain and varnish Monday through Friday, plus the first Saturday of most months. PaintCare's listing says it's for Shawnee County households. Don't put cans with liquid paint in your trash cart.
The facility is open Monday-Thursday 7 a.m.-5 p.m. and Friday 7 a.m.-3 p.m. It also opens on the first Saturday of each month, 9 a.m.-noon, except January and July. No appointment is mentioned for these hours.
Shawnee County Solid Waste lists 'paint cans with paint still in them' among things that can't go in your trash cart. Bring liquid paint to 46th Street. The county doesn't say whether paint that has dried hard can go in the cart; ask at 785-233-4774.
The county asks you to pack liquids and solids separately and keep latex paint and waste oil in different boxes. Put leaking or flimsy cans in a plastic bag inside a box with kitty litter or newspaper, and label the box.
The same facility takes electronics for free, except CRT TVs and monitors, which cost $40 each.
KDHE lists separate programs for the counties around Topeka: Jackson County in Holton (785-364-3459), Jefferson County in Oskaloosa (785-403-0659) and Douglas County in Lawrence (785-832-3036). Wabaunsee and Pottawatomie counties are part of the 11-county Big Lakes Regional program run from Riley County's facility in Manhattan (785-539-3202); KDHE also lists a Wabaunsee County contact in Alma (785-765-3432).
Kansas has no PaintCare program, so stores don't take paint back. In Topeka, the county facility is the place for both latex and oil-based paint. Shawnee County Solid Waste runs trash and recycling for city water customers and others in the county; its Green Recycle Guide sends paint to the 46th Street facility. We found no paint reuse shelf or recycled-paint giveaway in Shawnee County's materials.
Check that every lid is tight. Keep paint in its original can if you can. Pack latex and oil-based products in separate boxes, and keep liquids apart from solids. Load the boxes in the trunk, the back of an SUV or a truck bed.
Full preparation checklist →To the Shawnee County Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 131 NE 46th St. It's open Monday-Thursday 7-5, Friday 7-3, and the first Saturday of the month 9-noon (not January or July).
Yes. The county lists paints, stains and varnishes, and asks you to keep latex paint and waste oil in separate boxes.
Not if there's still paint in the can. The county lists those cans as not allowed in the cart.
Yes, the first Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to noon, except in January and July.
PaintCare's listing says the site is for Shawnee County households only, not businesses. Call 785-286-4381 if you're unsure.
October 15, 2026: read Shawnee County Solid Waste's Household Hazardous Waste page (hours, accepted list, packing rules), the Solid Waste FAQs (trash-cart exclusions, free e-waste except the $40 CRT fee), the new customer packet with the Green Recycle Guide, and the 2026 recycling calendar (first-Saturday collections, 9-noon; individual dates are color-marked and not readable as text). Read KDHE's household hazardous waste page and its program contacts PDF (opened in a browser), and Riley County's page, which says it hosts the 11-county Big Lakes Regional program including Wabaunsee and Pottawatomie counties. PaintCare's locator lists the facility as a non-program site for Shawnee County households only. Unresolved: the county's own page doesn't state residency, business rules, holiday closures or household quantity limits, and it doesn't say whether paint dried hard can go in the trash cart.
Checked October 15, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
