Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Sault Ste. Marie.
12140 W. Lakeshore Drive, Brimley, MI 49715 (Bay Mills tribal administration; event sites change)
These are drive-up events in different towns, not a permanent site, and the Brimley address is the tribal office, not a drop-off. The 2025 notice said there might be more events in September if funding allowed. Call 906-248-8655 or email wastecollection@baymills.org to ask about the next one.
1401 W. Easterday Ave., Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
Use this number to ask when the next county hazardous waste collection will be. Northern Transitions’ main office number is 906-635-5681.
Dry it at home. Take the lid off in a ventilated spot, or stir in cat litter or sawdust until it’s solid, then bag it with your garbage.
Hold on to them. No 2026 collection day is posted, and EGLE says to store materials safely until a collection is offered. Keep lids tight and the cans labeled, then call 906-248-8655 to ask when you can reserve a slot.
EGLE’s 2023 county profile lists Sugar Island and Kinross among the Chippewa County townships whose residents use the county’s hazardous waste collection events. Sugar Island also has its own township transfer station for trash, but the profile doesn’t list paint there. Ask Chippewa County Recycling at 906-632-0525 about the next collection.
We found no paid drop-off in Chippewa County in the sources reviewed. Dry the latex for the trash. For oil-based paint, give usable cans to someone who will use them, as EGLE suggests, or ask EGLE’s county contact whether another area takes out-of-area residents for a fee.
Dry latex paint until it’s solid, then put it in your household garbage. Store oil-based paint, stain and thinner in a safe, dry place until the next free collection day; call Bay Mills Indian Community at 906-248-8655 or Chippewa County Recycling at 906-632-0525 to ask when that will be. No 2026 date has been posted.
This guide is for Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, in Chippewa County, not the Ontario city of the same name. Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan has no year-round place to drop off paint. Oil-based paint waits for a free household hazardous waste collection day, which in 2025 Bay Mills Indian Community ran across Chippewa, Luce and Mackinac counties. Latex can be dried and thrown out. Michigan has no PaintCare program.
The Household Hazardous Waste Depot at 402 Fifth Line East (the city landfill) belongs to the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and is free for that city’s residents. Its 2026 season was listed as April 21 to October 17. It’s for residents of the Ontario city only; nothing on its page offers it to Michigan residents, so don’t plan on using it.
In 2025 the free events were Newberry (May 28), Rudyard (May 29), Cedarville (June 24) and Bay Mills (June 25). You had to reserve a drop-off time online, by phone or in person at the conservation district. Tribe members could register from April 1, farmers from May 1 and everyone else from May 7, 2025. The organizers said there might be more events in September if funding allowed.
Chippewa County’s recycling program is run by Northern Transitions at 1401 W. Easterday Ave. EGLE’s 2023 profile says its recycling trailer takes paper, glass, mixed plastics, metal cans and scrap; paint isn’t on that list. EGLE still lists the program as Chippewa County’s household hazardous waste contact, so call 906-632-0525 to ask about collection days, not to drop paint off.
The city sends residents to GFL (906-635-3380, 3239 W M-28, Brimley) for trash and recycling. Curbside recycling takes only #1 and #2 plastics, steel and aluminum cans, and paper, picked up the first and third Wednesday, and anything not on the list is left behind. Paint isn’t on it.
Reina Recycling, 401 Fort St., is open Saturdays 2–5 p.m. for electronics. Bay Mills’ battery flyer says Reina also takes most battery types, some for $1 a pound, and that leaking, swollen or corroded batteries go to hazardous waste events. Neither lists paint.
Michigan has no PaintCare program, and PaintCare’s locator data lists no drop-off in Chippewa County. The Marquette County drop-off at 600 County Road NP is for Marquette County residents only. Michigan EGLE says that if no collection is offered, you can store materials safely until one is, or see whether another area will take them for a fee for out-of-area residents. EGLE also suggests giving usable paint and stain to parks, churches, arts groups, nonprofit housing groups, shelters or neighbors.
For latex, take the lid off and let thin layers air-dry in a ventilated spot, or mix in an equal amount of cat litter, sawdust or a paint hardener, as the latex flyer posted on Bay Mills’ waste page (a City of East Lansing flyer) says. Bag the dried can for the garbage. Keep oil-based paint in its labeled original can with a tight lid, stored safely, as EGLE advises, until a collection day.
Full preparation checklist →There’s no permanent drop-off. Oil-based paint goes to free household hazardous waste collection days, which Bay Mills Indian Community held in four Eastern U.P. towns in 2025. Call 906-248-8655 for the next date.
Yes, once it’s completely dry. The latex flyer posted on Bay Mills’ waste page says to air-dry small amounts or mix in cat litter, sawdust or a hardener, then bag it with household garbage.
No. It’s run by the Ontario city for its own residents, and its 2026 season was listed as April 21 to October 17. Use the Michigan collection days instead.
None is posted as of October 17, 2026. The Bay Mills waste collections page lists only a scrap tire event set for October 27, 2026, which takes passenger tires, not paint.
In 2025, residents of Chippewa, Luce and Mackinac counties could sign up, with early registration for tribe members and farmers. You needed a reserved time slot. The 2025 accepted-items list included oil-based and latex paints and stains and paint thinner, but not industrial or commercial waste.
October 17, 2026: read Bay Mills Indian Community’s Waste Collections page (including its latex and battery flyers) and Waste Transfer Station page, the Inter-Tribal Council’s 2025 event page and flyer, an April 2025 EUP News notice, Chippewa County’s Northern Transitions page, Michigan EGLE’s disposal page, county contact list and FAQ, EGLE’s 2023 Chippewa County profile, the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan refuse and recycling page (read in the in-app browser because it blocks scripts), Reina Recycling, Recycle906, the Ontario city’s depot page and PaintCare’s locator data (no Chippewa County listing). Northern Transitions’ own recycling page refused the request (error 403) and couldn’t be read. The Inter-Tribal Council page also carries a 2025 accepted-items list that names oil-based and latex paints and stains and paint thinners, though the flyer itself doesn’t name paint. No calls were made. Unresolved: whether any 2026 collection day happened or is planned; and whether a future event would use the same 2025 accepted-items list (which took latex and oil-based paint). EGLE’s 2023 profile is a planning document that says it may be out of date. No paint reuse store was found.
Checked October 17, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
