Drop it off
1 paint drop-off site within 12 miles.
- City of Lake Charles Trash BasH · Lake Charles Event CenterHazardous waste site2.1 mi
Lake Charles, LA Paint Disposal
Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Lake Charles.
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Book a pickup $89 minimum · No next-day surcharge
All drop-off locations in and near Lake Charles4
Start with these
Calcasieu Parish Residential Solid Waste Convenience Center – East (empty, dry paint cans only)
5500 B Swift Plant Rd, Lake Charles, LA 70615
- Accepts
- Household trash too big for your cart, sorted recycling, tires and other bulky items. Paint cans only if they are open and any paint left in them is minimal and dry.
- Who can use it
- Calcasieu Parish residents only. The attendant scans your driver’s license to check that you live in the parish. No commercial or industrial waste.
- Hours
- Thursday to Monday, 7:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and on most parish holidays.
- Load limits
- No liquid paint. Paint cans must be open with only a little dried paint left. No automotive oil, grease or antifreeze, asbestos siding or medical waste. Tires: five per person per day, rims off. Everything must fit in the containers.
- Fees
- No extra charge for Calcasieu Parish residents.
This is not a hazardous waste drop-off. It is a place to get rid of empty or fully dried cans. Don’t bring cans with wet paint, oil-based paint, thinner or stain.
Directions ↗337-721-3500 (Calcasieu Parish Police Jury main line; no separate center number is posted)
Calcasieu Parish Residential Solid Waste Convenience Center – West, Sulphur (empty, dry paint cans only)
2915 Post Oak Rd, Sulphur, LA 70663
- Accepts
- Same as the East center: bulky household trash, sorted recycling and paint cans that are open with only minimal, dry paint left.
- Who can use it
- Calcasieu Parish residents with a valid driver’s license, scanned at the booth. No commercial or industrial waste.
- Hours
- Thursday to Monday, 7:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and on most parish holidays.
- Load limits
- No liquid paint. No automotive oil, grease or antifreeze, asbestos siding or medical waste. Tires: five per person per day, rims off.
- Fees
- No extra charge for Calcasieu Parish residents.
Same rules as the East center on Swift Plant Road. It takes dried-out cans, not usable or liquid paint.
Directions ↗337-721-3500 (Calcasieu Parish Police Jury main line; no separate center number is posted)
Lake Area Industry Alliance leftover paint drive (latex and enamel; last held April 25, 2026)
900 Lakeshore Dr, Lake Charles, LA 70601
- Accepts
- Residential latex and enamel paint, interior or exterior.
- Who can use it
- Homeowners with leftover house paint. Business paint is not mentioned.
- Hours
- Once a year, 8–11 a.m. on a spring Saturday. The 2026 drive was Saturday, April 25, in the south parking lot of the Lake Charles Event Center. The 2025 drive was May 3 at the Lake Charles Civic Center, and the 2024 drive was April 20 at the West Cal Event Center in Sulphur. No 2027 date has been posted.
- Load limits
- Not taken: oil, stain, varnish, paint thinner, aerosol cans, antifreeze, chemicals, electronics and solid waste. No gallon limit was published.
- Fees
- Free.
The site moves from year to year; the address is where the 2026 drive was held. Volunteers unload your car, and the paint is given to local charities. KPLC reported in 2024 that LAIA has taken part since 2000 and that more than 21,000 gallons had been collected.
Directions ↗No event phone published in reviewed sources; watch KPLC and the Lake Area Industry Alliance for the next date
1 paint drop-off site within 12 miles of Lake Charles.
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.
City of Lake Charles Trash BasH · Lake Charles Event Center
2.1 mi900 Lakeshore Dr, Lake Charles, LA 70601
- Who
- Households Only (No Businesses) in Lake Charles
- Hours
- Saturday, March 14, 2026, 8 am - 11 am.
- Products
- This site does not accept empty, dry or leaking paint containers.
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 Lake Charles cleanout?4
You have a few gallons of leftover interior latex
If it’s still good, keep it for the Lake Area Industry Alliance’s spring drive; it goes to charities. If not, let it dry out and take the open can to Swift Plant Road on a day from Thursday to Monday.
You’re clearing a flooded garage with rusty cans of oil paint
The parish centers and the paint drive won’t take liquid oil-based paint. Keep the cans upright and sealed. Call the city at 337-491-1220 before you hire a hazardous waste hauler.
You live in Sulphur or Westlake
Use the West center at 2915 Post Oak Road in Sulphur. It takes only empty, dried paint cans, and you’ll need a Calcasieu Parish driver’s license.
You’re putting out a pile for city trash pickup
Leave the paint out of the pile. The city lists paint as building material and hazardous waste it won’t collect.
Lake Charles rules and tips5
THE LOCAL ANSWER
Let latex paint dry out completely, then take the open, empty can to a Calcasieu Parish convenience center (5500 B Swift Plant Road or 2915 Post Oak Road, Sulphur; Thursday to Monday). The City of Lake Charles won’t pick up paint. Hold good latex for the Lake Area Industry Alliance’s spring paint drive.
This guide is for Lake Charles, Louisiana, in Calcasieu Parish. There is no year-round place here that takes liquid paint. The City of Lake Charles won’t pick up paint with garbage or trash. Calcasieu Parish’s two convenience centers take paint cans only when they’re open and dried out. Usable latex can go to the Lake Area Industry Alliance’s yearly paint drive, which gives it to charities.
Dry it out, then take the empty can to Swift Plant Road or Sulphur
The parish centers at 5500 B Swift Plant Road (Lake Charles) and 2915 Post Oak Road (Sulphur) take paint cans only if they are open and the little paint left is dry. They’re open Thursday to Monday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Staff scan your driver’s license to check that you live in Calcasieu Parish.
The city treats paint as hazardous waste
Lake Charles’s garbage page lists paint with toxic and medical waste as items the city won’t pick up. It says to contact a commercial hauler. Paint also isn’t allowed in trash pickup with building materials. Questions go to 337-491-1220.
Save good latex for the spring paint drive
The Lake Area Industry Alliance collects latex and enamel paint once a year and gives it to local charities. The 2026 drive was April 25 at the Lake Charles Event Center; 2025’s was May 3 at the Civic Center. No 2027 date is out yet. Oil paint, stain, varnish, thinner and spray cans are not taken.
Oil-based paint has no regular local option
We found no year-round public drop-off for oil-based paint, stain or thinner in Calcasieu Parish. Waste Management, which collects trash for parish Wards 2 through 8, lists paint as household hazardous waste it won’t take. Keep these cans sealed and dry, and ask the city or parish before you hire a hauler.
Old Trash Bash events took some paint
In 2019 the city’s Trash Bash at Chennault airport took latex and oil paint labeled recyclable and reusable. It did not take stain, varnish, spray paint or unlabeled cans. PaintCare’s list shows a city Trash Bash on March 14, 2026, at the Lake Charles Event Center. That date has passed, and we found no city page about it or about a next one.
Free pickup programs and other options
Louisiana has no PaintCare program, so stores won’t take paint back. Give usable paint to a neighbor, church or school, or hold good latex for the Lake Area Industry Alliance’s spring drive. Westlake held its own Trash Bash on April 18, 2026, but its notice didn’t mention paint. The city’s Green Truck and Green Stations take recycling only, not paint.
Getting your paint ready
To dry latex, take the lid off and let it harden outside, away from kids and pets. Mix in kitty litter if there’s more than a thin layer. Bring the open, dry can and your driver’s license to a parish center. Store oil-based cans sealed, labeled and up off the floor in case of flooding.
Full preparation checklist →Lake Charles questions5
Where can I drop off paint in Lake Charles?
Only dried-out cans, at the Calcasieu Parish convenience centers on Swift Plant Road and in Sulphur. Liquid latex can wait for the Lake Area Industry Alliance’s spring paint drive.
Will the City of Lake Charles pick up paint with my garbage?
No. The city lists paint as hazardous waste it won’t pick up and says to call a commercial hauler. Ask 337-491-1220 if you’re unsure.
When is the next Lake Charles paint drive?
No 2027 date has been announced. The 2026 drive was April 25 at the Lake Charles Event Center. It takes latex and enamel paint only.
Can I use the parish centers if I live in Sulphur or Moss Bluff?
Yes, if you live anywhere in Calcasieu Parish. Staff scan your driver’s license at the booth.
What do I do with old oil-based paint or stain?
We found no public drop-off for it in Calcasieu Parish. Keep it sealed and ask the city (337-491-1220) or the parish (337-721-3500) what they recommend.
Sources and how we checked14
October 13, 2026: read the Calcasieu Parish convenience centers and solid waste pages, Waste Management’s Calcasieu Parish page, the City of Lake Charles garbage pickup, solid waste, Recycle! Lake Charles and Team Green pages, an older Team Green brochure, KPLC stories on the LAIA paint drive (2024, 2025, 2026), the 2019 Trash Bash and Westlake’s 2026 Trash Bash, Louisiana DEQ’s recyclers page, and PaintCare’s locator data. PaintCare lists a city Trash Bash at the Event Center on March 14, 2026 (phone 337-708-7334), but no city page confirms it or says it took paint; the guide credits this date to PaintCare only. The 337-721-3500 number is the Police Jury’s site-wide line, not a center line. The parish posts no phone for its centers; we used the Police Jury main line. The city doesn’t say whether dried latex can go in the garbage cart. We found no paint policy for the local Habitat ReStore. Unresolved: the 2027 LAIA date and any public option for oil-based paint.
Checked October 13, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury: residential solid waste convenience centers ↗Calcasieu Parish Police Jury: solid waste collection ↗Waste Management: Calcasieu Parish trash pickup ↗City of Lake Charles: garbage pickup ↗City of Lake Charles: solid waste ↗City of Lake Charles: Recycle! Lake Charles (Green Truck schedule) ↗City of Lake Charles: Keep Greater Lake Charles Beautiful-Team Green ↗KPLC: LAIA to hold annual leftover paint recycling event (April 2026) ↗KPLC: paint recycling event to be held May 3 (2025) ↗KPLC: paint recycling event lets residents donate to charities (2024) ↗KPLC: City of Lake Charles Residential Trash Bash (2019) ↗KPLC: Westlake annual Trash Bash (April 2026) ↗Louisiana DEQ: recycling resources and recyclers by parish ↗PaintCare drop-off site locator ↗
