Drop it off
Where Escanaba residents can take paint:
- Delta Solid Waste Management Authority (Delta County Landfill, Delta Wide Recycling and Compost Site) household hazardous waste drop-off5701 19th Ave N, Escanaba, MI 49829
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All drop-off locations in and near Escanaba1
Start with these
Delta Solid Waste Management Authority (Delta County Landfill, Delta Wide Recycling and Compost Site) household hazardous waste drop-off
5701 19th Ave N, Escanaba, MI 49829
- Accepts
- The authority’s 2026 millage fact sheet lists paints, chemicals, pesticides, fluorescent bulbs, batteries, mercury ballasts and thermostats, electronics and TVs, mattresses and tires under its household hazardous waste program. Ketcham told WZMQ it takes paint cans, spray paints, used oil, solvents, batteries and light bulbs. Its pages don’t split latex from oil-based paint.
- Who can use it
- Delta County residents use it free. Out-of-county residents and businesses can use it for the fees above.
- Hours
- During the landfill’s regular hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m.–3 p.m.; Thursday 8 a.m.–6 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m.–noon. No appointment or collection day is mentioned. In a July 28, 2026 WZMQ report, administrative manager Jessica Ketcham said the program is open all day, every day, during normal business hours. The compost site is open 24/7, but that’s not for paint. Holiday closures weren’t published in the pages reviewed.
- Load limits
- No gallon or container limit is published. The landfill is a Type 2 landfill that can’t take liquids of any kind, so liquid paint must go through the hazardous waste program, not into the trash pile. Demolition waste must be inspected for hazardous waste first, for a fee.
- Fees
- Free for Delta County residents. Out-of-county residents pay $50 a ton with a $10 minimum (400 pounds and under is $10). Commercial customers pay $2.50 a pound for hazardous waste, with some items priced separately (light bulbs $2 each, mercury and mercury devices $45 a pound). Clean oil, pesticides and herbicides are free for anyone. In unofficial results reported by WZMQ, 67.96% of voters backed renewing the authority’s millage on August 4, 2026; Ketcham told WZMQ the household hazardous waste program will continue to be free.
The authority’s published drop-off steps, written for household trash, start with driving onto the scale on the west side of the building. Its pages don’t say where hazardous waste is handed over, so call 906-786-9056 if you’re unsure. The authority’s mailing address is P.O. Box 198, Escanaba; the street address is from Michigan EGLE’s landfill record. The City of Escanaba also lists 906-789-9995 for the landfill.
Delta County: Delta Solid Waste Management Authority (landfill hours, phone) ↗Delta County: DSWMA Household Hazardous Waste (free for Delta County residents, fees for others) ↗Delta County: DSWMA General Waste (no liquids, drop-off steps) ↗DSWMA: 2026 Millage Fact Sheet (PDF) ↗WZMQ (July 28, 2026): Delta Solid Waste Management Authority millage renewal to appear on Aug. 4 ballot ↗WZMQ (Aug. 5, 2026): Delta Solid Waste Management Authority “thrilled” with millage renewal results ↗Michigan EGLE: Delta County Landfill record (5701 19th Ave N) ↗City of Escanaba: Collection Guidelines (items not accepted in carts) ↗
Which option fits your Escanaba cleanout?4
A garage shelf of latex and oil-based cans
Box them up and take them all to the Delta County Landfill during open hours. Delta County residents pay nothing. Don’t put either kind in your city cart.
You work days and can’t get there by 3
Go on a Thursday, when the landfill is open until 6 p.m., or Saturday morning until noon.
You live outside Delta County
If you live outside Delta County you can still use the Escanaba drop-off, but you pay $50 a ton with a $10 minimum. Or call your own county’s contact on Michigan EGLE’s list first.
A painter with leftover primer and stain
Businesses can drop off hazardous waste at $2.50 a pound. Call 906-786-9056 first; no business quantity limit is published.
Escanaba rules and tips5
THE LOCAL ANSWER
Bring your paint to the Delta County Landfill, 5701 19th Ave N, Monday–Saturday during landfill hours (Thursday until 6 p.m., Saturday until noon). It’s free for Delta County residents and no appointment is listed. Don’t put paint in your Escanaba garbage cart; the city lists paints among items it won’t collect. Call 906-786-9056 with questions.
In Escanaba, Michigan (Delta County, in the Upper Peninsula), leftover paint goes to the Delta Solid Waste Management Authority at the Delta County Landfill on 19th Avenue North. Delta County residents drop off household hazardous waste for free during the landfill’s regular hours, and the authority’s pages mention no appointment. City garbage carts can’t take paint. Michigan has no PaintCare program.
Open every landfill day, not just event days
The authority runs its hazardous waste drop-off during regular landfill hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m.–3 p.m., Thursday 8 a.m.–6 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.–noon. In a July 2026 WZMQ report, administrative manager Jessica Ketcham said other parts of the U.P. offer only a few hours once or twice a month, while Delta’s program is open all day during normal hours. Thursday evening is the late option.
No separate latex rule is published
The authority’s pages list “paints” without splitting latex from oil-based, and Ketcham named paint cans and spray paints. The pages reviewed give no dry-it-and-trash rule for latex. The landfill is a Type 2 landfill that can’t take liquids of any kind, and the City of Escanaba lists paints, solvents and flammable liquids among items not accepted in carts. Unless the authority tells you otherwise, plan to bring both kinds to the hazardous waste drop-off, and call 906-786-9056 to ask about dried latex.
County residents are free; everyone else pays by weight
Delta County residents drop off hazardous waste free. Out-of-county residents pay $50 a ton with a $10 minimum, so 400 pounds or less costs $10. Businesses pay $2.50 a pound. On August 4, 2026, 67.96% of voters backed renewing the authority’s 0.297-mill levy, in unofficial results posted by the County Clerk and reported by WZMQ. Ketcham said the household program will continue to be free.
Gladstone uses the same landfill
The City of Gladstone runs its own cart pickup but tells residents to bring items that don’t fit its carts to the Delta County Landfill and to call 906-786-9056 about any unknown waste. Waste oil, batteries and electronics are not picked up at the curb in Gladstone; they go to the landfill too.
Empty spray cans can be recycled
The authority’s recycling page lists aerosol cans with steel food cans, but they must be completely empty with the plastic nozzle removed. Spray paint that isn’t empty doesn’t meet that rule; Ketcham said the hazardous waste program takes spray paints.
Free pickup programs and other options
Michigan isn’t on PaintCare’s list of program states, and PaintCare’s locator data has no listing in Delta County. The nearest guide on this site, Marquette, is different: its authority takes oil-based paint only by appointment, doesn’t take latex, and serves Marquette County residents only, so Delta County residents should stay with the Escanaba landfill. For paint that’s still good, Michigan EGLE suggests giving paints and stains to local parks, churches, arts councils, nonprofit housing groups, shelters or neighbors.
Getting your paint ready
Michigan EGLE says to call your local collection contact before you travel, so call 906-786-9056 if you’re unsure about an item; Gladstone gives the same advice for unknown waste. The authority’s drop-off steps for household trash start at the scale on the west side of the building; its pages don’t say where hazardous waste is handed over, so ask when you call. If you’re also dumping trash, keep the paint out of it, since the landfill can’t take liquids. Only completely empty aerosol cans, with the plastic nozzle removed, go in recycling.
Full preparation checklist →Escanaba questions5
Where do I take old paint in Escanaba?
To the Delta Solid Waste Management Authority at the Delta County Landfill, 5701 19th Ave N. It’s free for Delta County residents during landfill hours. Call 906-786-9056.
Do I need an appointment?
None is listed. The authority’s administrative manager told WZMQ the program is open all day during normal business hours: Monday–Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m.–3 p.m., Thursday 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.–noon.
Can I put latex paint in my city garbage cart?
The City of Escanaba lists paints among items its carts won’t accept, and its pages don’t make an exception for dried latex. Bring it to the landfill’s hazardous waste drop-off, or ask Public Works at 906-786-1842.
I live outside Delta County. Can I still drop off paint?
Yes, for a fee: $50 a ton with a $10 minimum, so loads of 400 pounds or less cost $10. Marquette County’s drop-off, by contrast, is for Marquette County residents only.
Can my painting business use it?
Yes. Commercial customers pay $2.50 a pound for hazardous waste, with some items priced separately. Call 906-786-9056 before bringing a large load, since no business limit is published.
Sources and how we checked18
October 17, 2026: read the Delta Solid Waste Management Authority’s pages on deltacountymi.gov (home and hours, Household Hazardous Waste, General Waste, Recycling, Composting, Agendas, Forms, Contact, Links), its 2026 millage fact sheet (PDF), three WZMQ reports (July 28, August 4 and August 5, 2026), Michigan EGLE’s landfill record and household hazardous waste pages, Recycle906’s household hazardous waste page, PaintCare’s states page and locator data (no Delta County listing). escanaba.org and gladstonemi.gov block curl, so the City of Escanaba Garbage & Recycling, Collection Guidelines and Recycling Information pages and the City of Gladstone Garbage and Recycling page were read in the in-app browser. No calls were made. Unresolved: whether dried latex may go in the trash or the landfill (the authority publishes no rule, and the city bans paints from carts); any gallon limit; holiday closures; and whether the August 4, 2026 millage result was certified (reports call it unofficial). The city’s printable Delta County recycling guide PDFs couldn’t be downloaded (403) and weren’t read.
Checked October 17, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
Delta County: Delta Solid Waste Management Authority (landfill hours, phone) ↗Delta County: DSWMA Household Hazardous Waste (free for Delta County residents, fees for others) ↗Delta County: DSWMA General Waste (no liquids, drop-off steps) ↗Delta County: DSWMA Recycling (aerosol cans, items brought to the landfill) ↗DSWMA: 2026 Millage Fact Sheet (PDF) ↗WZMQ (July 28, 2026): Delta Solid Waste Management Authority millage renewal to appear on Aug. 4 ballot ↗WZMQ (Aug. 4, 2026): Delta County transit and solid waste millage election results ↗WZMQ (Aug. 5, 2026): Delta Solid Waste Management Authority “thrilled” with millage renewal results ↗City of Escanaba: Collection Guidelines (items not accepted in carts) ↗City of Escanaba: Garbage & Recycling ↗Radio Results Network (Jan. 15, 2026): Escanaba outlines garbage, recycling pickup procedures ↗City of Gladstone: Garbage and Recycling (send unknown items to the Delta County Landfill) ↗Michigan EGLE: Delta County Landfill record (5701 19th Ave N) ↗Michigan EGLE: where to take household hazardous waste (donation, county contacts) ↗Michigan EGLE: Household hazardous waste (paints and stains) ↗Recycle906 (MCSWMA): Household Hazardous Waste (Marquette County residents only) ↗PaintCare: PaintCare states ↗PaintCare drop-off site locator ↗
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