Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Lexington.
451 Southland Dr, Lexington, KY 40503
Habitat’s page sends oil-based paint, stain and solvents to the city’s hazardous waste events. PaintCare’s locator lists this store as a latex paint site for Fayette County, Nicholasville and Versailles, and adds that paint must be newer than 1994; Habitat’s own page doesn’t list an age limit.
1631 Old Frankfort Pike, Lexington, KY 40504
Enter on Jimmie Campbell Drive, not from Old Frankfort Pike. Box electronics separately and turn on your hazard lights if you have them. Lead paint and paint thinner should be held for this event.
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.
451 Southland Dr, Lexington, KY 40503
1631 Old Frankfort Pike, Lexington, KY 40504
309 Rouse Ave, Frankfort, KY 40601
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Take them to the ReStore on Southland Drive Wednesday–Saturday. Cans must be rust-free and never frozen, in the original container. If a can is rusty or the paint froze in the garage, harden it and set it beside your green cart instead.
Hold them for the city’s collection at 1631 Old Frankfort Pike. Fill out the online survey first and enter at Jimmie Campbell Drive. The city lists the fall event for Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, 8:30–3.
Don’t harden it for the trash. The city says lead paint can only go to a household hazardous waste collection event.
PaintCare’s listing says the ReStore takes latex from businesses as well as households. Email donations@lexhabitat.org or call 859-252-2224, ext. 151, before a large drop-off. The city’s collection event is for Fayette County households only.
Drop good latex paint at the Habitat ReStore, 451 Southland Dr., Wednesday–Saturday 9:30–5. Save oil-based paint, stain, thinner and lead paint for Lexington’s free hazardous waste collection at 1631 Old Frankfort Pike; the city lists the fall event for Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. Small amounts of non-lead paint can be hardened with kitty litter and set beside your green cart.
Lexington, Kentucky, has no year-round paint drop-off. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government holds one-day hazardous waste collections at the old landfill on Old Frankfort Pike, and the city sends good latex paint to the Habitat ReStore on Southland Drive. Small amounts of paint can be hardened and set out beside your green trash cart.
Lexington Habitat’s ReStore at 451 Southland Dr. takes latex paint in rust-free, never-frozen original cans. Drop it off Wednesday–Saturday, 9:30–5. The ReStore doesn’t take oil-based paint, stain or solvents.
Mix in kitty litter, dirt, sand, sawdust or paint-hardening crystals until it’s solid. On trash day, set the can beside your green cart (not inside) with the lid on but not sealed. Lead paint can’t go out this way.
The city says to hold lead paint, paint thinner, acetone and other solvents for its household hazardous waste collection. The city’s list for that event takes latex, oil-based and lead paint.
The city requires an online HHW survey before you come. Enter at Jimmie Campbell Drive. If you’re also bringing electronics, box them separately and turn on your hazard lights.
Spray paint cans that are completely empty can go in your blue recycling cart. Partly full ones can’t; save them for the collection event.
Kentucky has no PaintCare program, so paint stores in Lexington don’t take paint back. Between collection days, latex can go to the ReStore if it’s in good shape, or be hardened and set out with your trash. The Kentucky Division of Water suggests offering leftover paint to a community or theater group.
Check each can: latex that’s never been frozen and isn’t rusty goes to the ReStore; oil-based paint, stain, thinner and lead paint wait for the city’s collection day. Keep everything in its original, labeled can with a tight lid. Do the city’s online survey before collection day.
Full preparation checklist →No. Lexington only takes oil-based paint at its one-day household hazardous waste collections. Store it safely until the next one.
Only latex, in rust-free original cans that were never frozen. No oil-based paint, stain or solvents.
The city says to set the hardened can beside your green cart on trash day with the lid on loosely. Lead paint can’t go out this way.
Yes. The city requires an online HHW survey. The event is free for Fayette County residents.
Put empty cans in your blue recycling bin. Never put full ones there.
October 12, 2026: read Lexington’s household hazardous waste page, the linked list of acceptable items (Google Drive PDF), the city’s trash page, and the Lexington Habitat ReStore home and donation pages. A second reviewer re-read all of them the same day. The city page lists only the fall event (Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026); PaintCare’s locator also lists a May 16, 2026 event, which is past. Move the Oct. 17 event to the past tense after it happens and check for a 2027 date. Not found: a gallon limit at the event, or whether ID is checked. The trash page and the HHW page agree: hardened, non-lead paint goes next to the green cart with the lid loose. PaintCare’s ReStore listing adds a “newer than 1994” rule that Habitat’s current page doesn’t mention.
Checked October 12, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
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