Drop it off free
The closest drop-off sites to Cape Girardeau:
- RP LumberPaint store34.6 mi
- Sherwin-WilliamsPaint store35.7 mi
Cape Girardeau, MO Paint Disposal
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All drop-off locations in and near Cape Girardeau2
Start with these
City of Cape Girardeau Public Works, Solid Waste Division (trash carts, Wednesday Special Pickups, hazardous waste events)
2007 Southern Expressway, Cape Girardeau, MO 63703
- Accepts
- Solid latex paint in the tan trash cart or with a Wednesday Special Pickup. No oil-based paint in the cart, on a special pickup or at the Recycling Center. The city’s periodic household hazardous waste drop-off events list paint, primer, varnish, paint thinner, paint remover, mineral spirits, turpentine, linseed oil, artist paint and aerosols containing these. Those events do not take paint in glass containers.
- Who can use it
- City of Cape Girardeau residential trash customers for cart service and special pickups. The handbook does not say who may use the hazardous waste events; ask when one is announced.
- Hours
- The Recycling Center at this address is open Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m., and used motor oil is taken Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m. (2026–2027 handbook). Paint isn’t on either list, and the e-waste list excludes chemicals and hazardous material. The city takes motor oil only while it has capacity, from citizens, not businesses, so call ahead. Wednesday Special Pickups must be booked by 3 p.m. the Tuesday before, and none run during holiday weeks.
- Load limits
- Cart: wet paint, paint in glass containers, oil-based paint and other flammables are banned. Special Pickup: one free pickup per residential trash customer per calendar year; if it takes staff more than 10 minutes to load, it becomes a charged pickup. No gallon limit is published for the hazardous waste events.
- Fees
- Dried latex in the cart is covered by your trash service. Charged special pickups are a $25 base charge plus $1.66 per minute per person after the first 10 minutes, and the fuel surcharge was $2.60 per pickup as of Oct. 1, 2026. No fee is published for the grant-funded hazardous waste events.
The city holds hazardous waste drop-offs only now and then, and says they depend on state grant funding. No date is posted. The web page says to seal and bag a dried latex can before it goes in the cart; the handbook only says to seal it. Call 573-339-6351 or email capepublicworks@cityofcape.org.
City of Cape Girardeau Transfer Station
2055 Corporate Circle, Cape Girardeau, MO 63703
- Accepts
- Appliances, bulky items and extra trash. It does not take tires, batteries, motor oil, concrete, railroad ties, automobile parts, pesticides, oil-based paint or any other hazardous material. The city’s pages don’t say whether dried latex is welcome here; dried latex has its own cart and special pickup option.
- Who can use it
- The city’s page doesn’t limit it to residents; fees are paid on site.
- Hours
- Weekdays 7 a.m.–4 p.m.; closed weekends and city holidays.
- Load limits
- All loads must be secured: trailers without sides fully tarped, tailgates up, nothing hanging off the vehicle.
- Fees
- Rates as of July 1, 2026: general disposal $90 per ton, limbs and brush $90 per ton, appliances $25 each, $25 minimum charge, and a $25 fee for an unsecured load. Fuel surcharge $2.60 per ton or item as of Oct. 1, 2026. Pay on site by cash, check or credit/debit card. The handbook says rates go up every July 1.
Not a paint drop-off. Don’t bring oil-based paint, stain or thinner here. The station opened June 13, 2016.
The closest PaintCare drop-off sites to Cape Girardeau.
2 paint stores 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.
Rules most stores here share
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.
Each listing below shows only what’s different, plus its limit.
RP Lumber
34.6 mi22 Lumber Ln, Murphysboro, IL 62966
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
Sherwin-Williams
35.7 mi1360 E Main St, Carbondale, IL 62901
- Limits
- Limit: 5 gallons per visit.
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 Cape Girardeau cleanout?4
Several gallons of latex from a remodel
Mix each can with two parts cat litter or sand to one part paint and let it dry completely. Put sealed cans in the tan cart a few at a time so the lid still shuts, or book your free Wednesday Special Pickup and set the cans beside your other items with the lids off.
Oil-based paint and thinner stored in the garage
They can’t go in the cart, on a special pickup or to the transfer station. Paint and thinner are on the list for the city’s household hazardous waste drop-off events, which depend on grant funding and have no date posted. Call 573-339-6351 to ask when the next one will be. A 2000 news story shows the city has run these before: more than 220 people brought waste to a drop-off at Arena Park.
City of Cape Girardeau: 2026-2027 Trash & Recycling Handbook (PDF) ↗City of Cape Girardeau: Other Waste (paint and household hazardous waste) ↗Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission: Solid Waste Management District (grant projects) ↗Southeast Missourian (Oct. 30, 2000): Waste drop-off deemed success ↗
A basement cleanout with furniture, boxes and old paint
Book a Wednesday Special Pickup by 3 p.m. the Tuesday before. Put small items in boxes or bags, keep appliances separate, and set dried latex cans aside with the lids off. Leave oil-based paint out of the pile; it won’t be picked up.
A contractor hauling a trailer of debris to the transfer station
The transfer station charges $90 per ton with a $25 minimum, plus a $25 fee if your load isn’t tarped and secured. It refuses oil-based paint and other hazardous materials. No city page offers a business paint option, so ask Public Works before you load leftover cans.
Cape Girardeau rules and tips5
THE LOCAL ANSWER
Mix latex paint with two parts cat litter or sand, let it dry completely, and put the sealed can in your tan trash cart (the city’s web page also says to bag it). Oil-based paint, stain and thinner can’t go in the cart, on a Wednesday Special Pickup or to the transfer station. The city says oil-based paint must go through a hazardous waste collection, so call Public Works at 573-339-6351 to ask about the next grant-funded drop-off.
This guide covers Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The city has no permanent hazardous waste drop-off. Latex paint can go in your tan trash cart once it is completely solid. Oil-based paint has to go to a household hazardous waste drop-off event, which the city holds only now and then, when state grant money comes through. No date is posted, and the last city collection on the regional grant list was funded in FY2023. Missouri has no PaintCare program, so there are no PaintCare store drop-offs.
Latex: the city’s two-to-one recipe
Mix two parts cat litter or sand with one part paint and let it dry completely. The Other Waste page says to seal and bag the can before it goes in the tan cart; the 2026–2027 handbook says to seal it and doesn’t mention a bag. For a Wednesday Special Pickup, set the can beside your other items with the lid off so the crew can see it is solid. Wet paint and paint in glass containers are banned from the cart.
No standing hazardous waste site; events depend on grants
The city says it periodically offers a household hazardous waste drop-off with Missouri DNR and the Southeast Missouri Solid Waste Management District, and the handbook says each event depends on state grant funding. The regional planning commission’s project list shows a City of Cape Girardeau household hazardous waste collection funded in FY2020 and FY2023. No city hazardous waste project is listed for FY2024, FY2025 or FY2026. Ask Public Works (573-339-6351) whether one is planned.
What the drop-off events take
The handbook’s list for these events includes paint, primer, varnish, paint thinner, paint remover, mineral spirits, turpentine, linseed oil, artist paint and aerosols that contain them. It does not take paint in glass containers, batteries, fire extinguishers, gas cylinders or tires. The handbook says latex paint should be dried for the weekly trash or a Wednesday Special Pickup instead.
Wednesday Special Pickup: dried latex yes, oil-based no
Each residential trash customer gets one free Wednesday Special Pickup a year. Book it by 3 p.m. the Tuesday before at 573-339-6351; none run during holiday weeks. If loading takes more than 10 minutes, it becomes a charged pickup ($25 base charge plus $1.66 per minute per person after the first 10 minutes). Oil-based paint, pesticides and other hazardous materials aren’t accepted on any special pickup.
Donating paint: sealed cans only
The city says the Cape Girardeau ReStore takes new, unopened, sealed paint and asks you to check first at 573-651-9080 or restore@capeareahabitat.org. The Cape Area ReStore’s donation guidelines list "open cans of paint/stain" among things it can’t take. For opened cans, the city suggests offering them free on Facebook or Freecycle.
Free pickup programs and other options
Missouri has no PaintCare program, so there are no PaintCare store drop-offs. Illinois does have PaintCare stores, such as RP Lumber in Murphysboro and Sherwin-Williams in Carbondale, but PaintCare lists who can use them as "Households and Businesses in Illinois". Missouri residents aren’t in that listing. St. Louis’s household hazardous waste program is for St. Louis City, St. Louis County and Jefferson County residents, according to its PaintCare non-program listing. The regional planning commission’s grant notice covers the Southeast Missouri Solid Waste Management District’s counties: Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Iron, Madison, Perry, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve. Missouri DNR lists the district contact as Samantha Nordman at the commission in Perryville (573-547-8357 ext. 300). Missouri DNR says oil-based paint must go to a collection center or paint retailer, and suggests giving usable paint to neighbors, charities, schools, churches or theater groups. No city page offers a paint option for businesses, so ask Public Works.
Getting your paint ready
For latex, use two parts cat litter or sand to one part paint and wait until it is completely dry. Oil-based paint, stain and thinner can’t go in the cart, on a special pickup or to the transfer station; the city says oil-based paint must go through a hazardous waste collection. Paint in glass containers is banned from the cart and isn’t taken at the drop-off events. The city says never to put liquid paint in the trash or pour it down a drain, into the sewer, on the ground or into a waterway. Used motor oil is a separate city drop-off at the southeast corner of the Public Works building (weekdays 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m.); the city says not to mix solvents into it, may test it, and asks you to sign a log sheet.
Full preparation checklist →Cape Girardeau questions5
Where can I take old paint in Cape Girardeau, Missouri?
There is no year-round drop-off. Dried latex goes in your tan trash cart. Oil-based paint waits for a city household hazardous waste drop-off event; call Public Works at 573-339-6351 to ask about the next one.
Can dried latex paint go in my tan trash cart?
Yes, once it is solid. Mix in two parts cat litter or sand to one part paint and let it dry completely. Seal the can (the web page also says to bag it). Wet paint is not allowed.
When is the next household hazardous waste drop-off?
None is posted. The city holds them only now and then, depending on state grant funding. The most recent city hazardous waste project on the regional planning commission’s grant list is from FY2023. Call 573-339-6351.
Can I take paint to the Cape Girardeau transfer station?
Not oil-based paint. The transfer station at 2055 Corporate Circle refuses oil-based paint and all hazardous materials. Its pages don’t mention dried latex, which can go in your cart.
Will the ReStore take my leftover paint?
Only new, unopened, sealed cans, per the city. The Cape Area ReStore’s guidelines say it can’t take open cans of paint or stain. Call 573-651-9080 first.
Sources and how we checked10
October 17, 2026: the new cityofcapegirardeau.org pages (Other Waste, Special Pickups, Transfer Station) returned HTTP 403 to curl and were read in the in-app browser (a peer-review re-check the same day read them and the handbook with curl); the 2026–2027 Trash & Recycling Handbook PDF linked there was fetched inside that page and read as text. An older copy of the city site (capegirardeau.hosted.civiclive.com) shows the July 2025 rates, so the newer July 2026 rates are used here. Also read: Missouri DNR’s District R page and paint guidance, the SEMO RPC grant project list, Cape Area Habitat’s donation guidelines, a Southeast Missourian story from Oct. 30, 2000 (220+ people at an Arena Park drop-off), and PaintCare records 17274, 17354 (Illinois program stores; customers "Households and Businesses in Illinois") and 15912/15913 (St. Louis, non-program). Cape Area Habitat’s guidelines page lists a 704 area-code donation hotline, so use the city’s ReStore number instead. Unresolved: the next hazardous waste event date, who may use it and any limits; bag vs. no bag for dried latex; whether the transfer station takes dried latex; the ReStore’s address. No phone calls were made.
Checked October 17, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
City of Cape Girardeau: Other Waste (paint and household hazardous waste) ↗City of Cape Girardeau: 2026-2027 Trash & Recycling Handbook (PDF) ↗City of Cape Girardeau: Special Pickups ↗City of Cape Girardeau: Transfer Station ↗Missouri DNR: District R, Southeast Missouri Solid Waste Management District ↗Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission: Solid Waste Management District (grant projects) ↗Missouri DNR: household hazardous waste and paint ↗Habitat for Humanity Cape Area: ReStore donation guidelines ↗Southeast Missourian (Oct. 30, 2000): Waste drop-off deemed success ↗PaintCare drop-off site locator ↗
