Drop it off free
1 free paint drop-off site within 12 miles.
- Metropolis Hometown HardwarePaint store8.1 mi
Paducah, KY Paint Disposal
Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Paducah.
NOW AVAILABLE IN PADUCAH
Paint recycling pickup. Book online.
Book a pickup $89 minimum · No next-day surcharge
All drop-off locations in and near Paducah2
Start with these
Paducah–McCracken County Spring Clean Up Day (Republic Services transfer station)
829 Burnett Street, Paducah, KY
- Accepts
- Household hazardous waste that is labeled and in its original container, plus household garbage, tagged Freon-free appliances, up to 8 tires, ammunition, prescription medicines, batteries and e-scrap. The city doesn’t name paint in its list, so ask Public Works whether your paint counts.
- Who can use it
- Paducah and McCracken County residents, with ID such as a driver’s license to prove residency.
- Hours
- Once a year in spring. The 2026 event was held Saturday, April 18, 7 a.m.–2 p.m., rain or shine; anyone in line by 2 p.m. was served. Earlier events were held April 13, 2024 and May 3, 2025. No 2027 date was posted in the sources reviewed.
- Load limits
- No medical waste, commercial waste or radioactive items. Tires are limited to 8 (no heavy-equipment, solid, rubber-track or foam-filled tires).
- Fees
- Free.
Enter from North 10th Street off Park Avenue and turn right onto Burnett Street; no entry from North 8th or 9th Streets. Hazardous waste is unloaded last in line, so keep it separate. The rest of the year, Republic’s recycling drop point at this address (Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–4 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m.–noon) does not accept household hazardous waste.
City of Paducah: 2026 City-County Spring Clean Up Day ↗City of Paducah: Solid Waste, Brush, and Yard Waste ↗City of Paducah: 2024 City-County Spring Clean Up Day Set for April 13 ↗KFVS12 (2025): Paducah, McCracken County Spring Clean Up Day set for May 3 ↗City of Paducah: Recycling (Republic Services drop point) ↗
1 PaintCare drop-off site within 12 miles of Paducah.
1 paint store 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.
Metropolis Hometown Hardware
8.1 mi817 W 10th St, Metropolis, IL 62960
- 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.
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 Paducah cleanout?4
Half a can of latex in a Paducah house
Stir in cat litter or a hardener and let it dry outside until it won’t pour. Before you set the open can out with the trash, call Public Works at 270-444-8511, because the city’s cart rules list paint as unacceptable.
Oil-based paint and varnish from the garage
Don’t open the cans to let them evaporate. Keep them labeled in their original containers. The city’s Spring Clean Up Day list takes household hazardous waste but doesn’t name paint, so ask Public Works (270-444-8511) whether to bring them to the next one, with ID; the 2026 event was April 18.
Using this fall’s free bulk-item week
Put out up to three furniture items or tagged appliances, but leave paint cans out of the pile. The city says hazardous waste and flammable materials are prohibited, and a pile with a prohibited item isn’t picked up at all.
Paint from a rental turnover or a painting business
Spring Clean Up Day doesn’t accept commercial waste, and the Burnett Street recycling drop doesn’t take hazardous waste. The city’s bulk-item program also bars hazardous waste. Hire a private hazardous waste company.
Paducah rules and tips5
THE LOCAL ANSWER
Call Paducah Public Works at 270-444-8511 before you put hardened latex in your rollout: the city’s Solid Waste page says to set solid latex out for garbage pickup, but the same page’s cart rules list paint as unacceptable. Keep oil-based paint labeled in its original can and ask Public Works whether the yearly Spring Clean Up Day will take it; the 2026 event was held April 18. Never let oil-based paint evaporate.
Paducah, Kentucky (McCracken County) has one free household hazardous waste day a year: the City-County Spring Clean Up Day at the Republic Services transfer station on Burnett Street. The 2026 event was held April 18. The city’s list says household hazardous waste must be labeled and in its original container, but it doesn’t name paint. The rest of the year, the city’s Solid Waste page (and the state fact sheet it posts) says to harden latex paint and set the open can out for garbage pickup, while the same page’s container rules list paint as unacceptable. Kentucky has no PaintCare program.
One free hazardous waste day a year
Spring Clean Up Day is the city and county’s free day for household hazardous waste, rain or shine, at the Republic Services transfer station, 829 Burnett Street. It was held April 13, 2024, May 3, 2025 and April 18, 2026. Bring ID showing you live in Paducah or McCracken County. Hazardous waste must be labeled and in its original container, and it’s unloaded last in line, so keep it apart from your garbage.
The city page disagrees with itself on hardened latex
The Solid Waste page’s quick link says to open a latex can, let it harden, and set the open can out for garbage pickup once it’s solid and not pourable. The same page’s container rules say hazardous materials "including but not limited to paint" will interrupt service. Call 270-444-8511 before you put hardened latex in your rollout.
Don’t bring paint to the Burnett Street recycling drop
Republic’s free recycling drop point next to the transfer station is open Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–4 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m.–noon. The city says Republic will not accept household hazardous waste there, so paint waits for Spring Clean Up Day.
Bulk-item weeks exclude paint
The city’s Household Bulk Item Collection Program returns for late October and early November 2026, zone by zone, starting with the Tuesday-garbage zone in the week beginning Oct. 26. It’s free for up to three large items. Hazardous waste and flammable materials are prohibited, and if any prohibited item is in your pile, none of it is picked up.
The state’s donation examples aren’t local
The Kentucky fact sheet the city posts suggests donating usable paint to a charity. Its examples are in Bowling Green, Louisville and Lexington, and it also suggests a neighborhood paint swap. It also says to combine leftovers of the same type (latex with latex, oil with oil). Owensboro is different: PaintCare’s non-program listing shows Daviess County’s transfer station taking liquid paint at $2 a gallon, but only from Daviess County households.
Free pickup programs and other options
Kentucky has no PaintCare program, so there are no PaintCare store drop-offs. Use paint for base coats and touch-ups, combine same-type leftovers, or hold a neighborhood paint swap, as the state fact sheet suggests. For disposal questions, including how to handle oil-based paint, the sheet says to contact your county solid waste coordinator; the McCracken County website we checked had no solid waste page, so start with Paducah Public Works at 270-444-8511. Businesses can’t use Spring Clean Up Day (no commercial waste) and need a private hazardous waste company.
Getting your paint ready
For latex, stir in a thickener such as hardener crystals, cat litter, sand or dry dirt and let it dry outside, away from pets and children, until it isn’t pourable. Don’t let oil-based paint evaporate; the fumes are toxic and flammable. Keep oil-based cans tightly closed and labeled for Spring Clean Up Day. City rollouts go out by 4 a.m. on collection day, within two feet of the road edge, with four feet of clear space around them.
Full preparation checklist →Paducah questions5
Where can I take old paint in Paducah?
To the free City-County Spring Clean Up Day at the Republic Services transfer station, 829 Burnett Street, held once a year. The 2026 event was April 18. The city lists household hazardous waste that’s labeled and in its original container; ask 270-444-8511 to confirm your paint counts.
Can I put dried latex paint in my rollout?
The city’s page gives both answers. Its posted fact sheet says to set hardened latex out for garbage pickup; its container rules list paint as unacceptable. Call Public Works at 270-444-8511 first.
When is the next Spring Clean Up Day?
No 2027 date was posted when we checked. Recent events were April 13, 2024, May 3, 2025 and April 18, 2026, all on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Do I need ID for Spring Clean Up Day?
Yes. Paducah and McCracken County residents must bring ID, such as a driver’s license, to prove residency.
Can a business or contractor bring paint?
No. The city says no commercial waste is accepted at Spring Clean Up Day, and Republic’s recycling drop point doesn’t take household hazardous waste. Use a private hazardous waste company.
Sources and how we checked9
October 17, 2026: read the City of Paducah Solid Waste, Recycling and Household Bulk Item pages, the 2026 and 2024 Spring Clean Up Day pages, the July 2026 Public Works fee schedule, the Kentucky paint fact sheet posted on the city site, a 2025 KFVS report, and PaintCare’s locator data (no Paducah listing; Owensboro record 15692 used for contrast and labeled as a non-program listing). The city’s Solid Waste page still says Spring Clean Up Day “will be” April 18, 2026; the guide uses the past tense. The McCracken County 2023–2027 solid waste plan PDF is a scanned image and could not be read. The county website has no solid waste page. Unresolved: whether paint (latex or oil-based) is taken at Spring Clean Up Day, since the city lists only ’household hazardous waste’; whether hardened latex is allowed in rollouts (the city page conflicts); the 2027 event date; any option for county residents outside city garbage service. No phone calls were made.
Checked October 17, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
City of Paducah: Solid Waste, Brush, and Yard Waste ↗City of Paducah: 2026 City-County Spring Clean Up Day ↗City of Paducah: 2024 City-County Spring Clean Up Day Set for April 13 ↗KFVS12 (2025): Paducah, McCracken County Spring Clean Up Day set for May 3 ↗Kentucky Division of Waste Management fact sheet: Paint disposal (posted by the City of Paducah) ↗City of Paducah: Household Bulk Item Collection Program ↗City of Paducah: Recycling (Republic Services drop point) ↗City of Paducah: Public Works Schedule of Fees (effective July 1, 2026) ↗PaintCare drop-off site locator ↗
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}