Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Princeton.
350 Lawrence Station Road, Lawrence Township, NJ 08648
Not open between event days. MCIA’s office line is 609-278-8100.
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.
540 Ridge Rd, Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852
410 Roycefield Rd, Hillsborough, NJ 08844
357 Dunhams Corner Rd, East Brunswick, NJ 08816
51 Main St, Helmetta, NJ 08828
400 Jersey Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Stir kitty litter or sand into the latex until it won’t pour, let it dry, and put it in your cart. It must be completely dry.
Skip the bulk reservation; oil-based cans are refused. Store it sealed in the garage, away from the furnace, until MCIA posts next year’s dates.
Bring old electronics, appliances, clothes and papers. Leave paint and chemicals at home; they’re on the do-not-bring list.
Your building’s owner hires its own trash hauler. Ask the manager how the hauler wants dried paint handled.
Stir kitty litter or sand into leftover latex until it’s solid, then put the can in your Princeton cart; the town’s trash rules (adopted with Ordinance 2023-05) allow completely dry latex in the trash. Oil-based paint and stain need the county’s free chemical collection at the Dempster fire school, and all three 2026 days (March 21, June 13 and September 26) have passed.
In Princeton, Mercer County, dried latex paint goes in your municipal trash cart, and the town’s trash rules say so. Oil-based cans are the hard part: the only free option is a Mercer County chemical day at the Dempster fire school, and the next one is in 2027. Paint stores here have no take-back program.
Princeton’s trash rules say latex paint cans can go in the trash once they’re completely dry. Add kitty litter or sand to dry them out. Everything must fit in the town’s cart: bagged trash outside the cart isn’t collected, and a full cart can’t weigh more than 200 pounds.
Princeton’s Wednesday bulk pickup lists oil-based paint cans with propane tanks, grills and lawnmowers as flammable items it won’t collect. Bulk is booked online by Sunday 11:59 p.m., two items under 50 pounds each. Keep oil cans sealed for the county’s next chemical day instead.
Princeton’s Household Recycling and SHRED Fest is Saturday, October 10, 2026, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. (or until the trucks are full), rain or shine, at the Westminster Choir College lot (enter on Franklin Avenue), for Princeton residents. Paint and chemicals are on its do-not-bring list. Bring electronics, appliances and papers instead.
Interstate Waste Services collects Princeton trash weekly by section. Carts go on the road pavement no earlier than 7 p.m. the night before and by 7 a.m. (9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the Central Business District). Bagged trash left beside the cart stays behind, so a dried can must fit inside.
The town’s cart service covers homes with one to four units. Owners of buildings with five or more units contract privately for trash, so ask your hauler before putting dried paint in a dumpster.
Usable paint is worth posting on a Princeton neighborhood list or giving to a school or theater group before you dry it. For MCIA questions, call 609-278-8086. Princeton’s municipal building at 400 Witherspoon Street answers at 609-924-4141, Monday–Friday 9–5.
For latex: if the can is mostly full, pour some into a box lined with a bag, mix in kitty litter or sand, and let it set before it goes in the cart. Leave the lid off so the hauler can see it’s dry. For oil-based paint and stain: keep the lid tight and the label on, and store it away from heat until the next county day.
Full preparation checklist →Yes, if it’s completely dry. Princeton’s trash rules say to add kitty litter or sand to dry it out first.
No. Oil-based paint cans are on the bulk not-accepted list as flammable items. Bulk is for furniture and similar items, two per week by reservation.
No. Paint and chemicals are on the event’s do-not-bring list.
Princeton’s Recycling in Princeton page listed the 2026 MCIA dates, so check it for 2027. You can also ask MCIA at 609-278-8086.
Dried latex from a house with one to four units can go in its town cart. For oil-based work paint, call MCIA first; its flyer only mentions residents with ID.
Checked October 7, 2026: Princeton’s Trash Collection page (Ordinance 2023-05 on dried latex, carts, bulk and the 1–4 unit rule), Recycling in Princeton (bucket pickup at 27 North Harrison Street and the MCIA date list), the October 10 SHRED Fest page, and MCIA’s own events flyer. Princeton’s September 26 chemical day was the last of the year. Open questions: 2027 county dates, whether MCIA serves landlords and painters, and whether any Princeton paint swap exists; none was found. The River Road convenience center was left out because no current town page shows it open. Peer review, October 7, 2026: the Trash Collection page says the rules were adopted with Ordinance 2023-05 on February 13, 2023, and that dry latex can go in the trash with kitty litter or sand added; we didn’t read the ordinance text itself, so the guide credits “the town’s trash rules.” SHRED Fest details and the do-not-bring list (paint, chemicals) match the town page.
Checked October 7, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
