Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Hattiesburg.
29 Academy Drive, Hattiesburg, MS 39401
The 2019 calendar listing gave the airport address as 50 Academy Drive; the 2026 page says 29 Academy Drive. Use the address on the newest notice. The city's page lists no phone number for the event; the City Action Line is 601-545-4500 and Mississippi DEQ lists Nkrumah Frazier at 601-545-4648 as the city's recycling contact. Mississippi has no PaintCare program.
99 Central Industrial Row, Purvis, MS 39475
This is the Lamar County site of a City of Hattiesburg event. Lamar County's own rules weren't checked for this guide. Mississippi has no PaintCare program.
Don't put them in the green or brown can; the city bans paint from both. Call Sanitation & Solid Waste at 601-545-4545 and ask whether the hazardous materials special pickup takes latex paint. If they say no, ask whether they'll allow Mississippi DEQ's dry-it-out method, or hold the cans for the next Right Way to Throw Away Day.
These are on the Right Way to Throw Away list (varnish, wood finish, water sealer, paint thinner, turpentine). Keep them sealed until the next event, or ask 601-545-4545 about a special pickup. Mississippi DEQ's let-it-evaporate tip is for latex only. For oil-based paint it suggests soaking it up with oil dry, sawdust or kitty litter and bagging it for the trash, but Hattiesburg bans paint from its cans, so ask first.
The event has taken paint, TVs, appliances and tires in one stop. Paint and tires can't go in any city can. Heavy trash that fits in neither can goes to the curb for weekly pickup, but the city says hazardous waste (including paint), tires and glass are not acceptable in any can. Call 601-545-4545 before the next event.
None of the Hattiesburg sources say businesses can use the event; the city page speaks only of residents. The city also doesn't collect construction and demolition debris in its cans. Ask the city at 601-545-4500 before bringing job waste.
Call Hattiesburg Sanitation & Solid Waste at 601-545-4545 and ask about a special pickup for your paint; the city's garbage page says to call for hazardous materials, and paint can't go in either can. Or keep it for the next Right Way to Throw Away Day, which took paint and paint thinner on May 2, 2026 at Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport (29 Academy Drive) and in Purvis. No next date was posted when we checked.
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, has no year-round paint drop-off. The city won't take paint in its green or brown cans and calls paint hazardous waste. Instead, Hattiesburg holds a Right Way to Throw Away Day, which WDAM says the city runs with Forrest and Lamar counties, with drop-offs at Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport and in Purvis. The 2026 day, May 2, has passed. Between events, the city's garbage page says to call for a special pickup of hazardous materials.
The city's list of things you shouldn't put in your container includes paint, solvents and flammable liquids. Its heavy-trash section says hazardous waste, including paint, isn't acceptable in any can. That covers the green garbage can and the brown yard-waste can.
On the same list, the city says "Hazardous Materials - Call for a special pick up." It doesn't say what that costs, how much it takes, or whether it handles paint. Call Sanitation & Solid Waste at 601-545-4545 and ask before you set anything out.
Past days: April 20, 2019; May 21, 2022; May 3, 2025; and May 2, 2026. Each ran 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. where a time was given. The city's list names paint, paint thinner, turpentine, varnish, water sealer and wood finish. Ammunition, explosives, syringes and medical waste were refused.
Mississippi DEQ says that if no collection is available, you can let latex paint dry and set the open can out with the garbage, or soak up latex or oil-based paint with oil dry, sawdust or kitty litter and bag it. Hattiesburg's own page bans paint from its cans, so call 601-545-4545 before using that fallback inside the city.
WDAM reported on Jan. 28, 2026 that Delta Waste Solutions was starting weekly garbage pickup in unincorporated Forrest County, including Rawls Springs, Glendale and Dixie, at a current rate of $56.40 a quarter for one can. WDAM reported it doesn't affect anyone inside Hattiesburg or Petal. We found no Delta Waste paint rules, so ask the county or hauler.
Mississippi has no PaintCare program, so there are no PaintCare store drop-offs. Mississippi DEQ suggests using paint up or giving usable paint to a theater group, school or Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity of the Pine Belt says its ReStore takes donated materials, but its site posts no paint policy, so call before you bring cans. In February 2017, Mississippi DEQ announced a two-day collection at the airport that took paint from Forrest, Lamar and Perry county residents hit by the January 21 tornado outbreak; it was set up for that storm. Unlike Gulfport, where PaintCare's locator lists a Harrison County site open the second Saturday of each month (a non-program listing for Harrison County households only), the Hattiesburg area has no monthly site.
If you call for a special pickup, tell Sanitation & Solid Waste (601-545-4545) how many cans and which kinds you have. Keep paint out of both carts while you wait. For a Right Way to Throw Away Day, leave ammunition, syringes and medical waste at home. If you store paint, Mississippi DEQ suggests cleaning the rim, covering the opening with plastic wrap, closing the lid tight, turning the can upside down, and noting the room it was used in.
Full preparation checklist →There's no year-round drop-off. The city collects paint at its Right Way to Throw Away Day; the 2026 day was May 2 at Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport, 29 Academy Drive, and at the Lamar County Multi-Purpose Center in Purvis. Between events, call 601-545-4545 and ask about the special pickup for hazardous materials.
The city's garbage page lists paint among things not to place in your container and says hazardous waste, including paint, isn't accepted in any can. Mississippi DEQ allows dried latex in the trash only when no collection is available. Call 601-545-4545 before trying it.
No date was posted when we checked. Recent days were May 3, 2025 and May 2, 2026, both Saturdays. Watch the city's Right Way to Throw Away page or call the City Action Line at 601-545-4500.
The city's event page lists no fee. WDAM reported in 2025 that a Mississippi DEQ grant of $75,000 covers a large part of the cost, and the city and Forrest and Lamar counties split the rest. No price is published for the special pickup; ask when you call.
The city's page just says "residents." The event is run with Forrest and Lamar counties and uses a second site in Purvis, but no source says who outside the city may come. Call 601-545-4500 to check.
Checked October 17, 2026: the City of Hattiesburg's Garbage and Trash page, its Right Way to Throw Away page (May 2, 2026 event) and 2019 calendar listing, WDAM stories from 2022, April 2025 and May 2025, Mississippi DEQ's household hazardous waste page, its Forrest County recycling directory entry and its 2017 tornado-collection release, WDAM's January 2026 story on Forrest County's new hauler, Habitat for Humanity of the Pine Belt's site, PaintCare's state list and PaintCare's locator data (no Hattiesburg-area listing; Mississippi has no program). Searches of the city site for hazardous waste and paint found no other collection. Unresolved: what the hazardous materials special pickup costs and whether it takes paint; whether Forrest County residents outside Hattiesburg or businesses can use the event; the next event date; Delta Waste Solutions' paint rule; whether the Pine Belt ReStore takes paint. We made no phone calls.
Checked October 17, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
