Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Trenton.
707 Calhoun Street, Trenton, NJ 08618
Call first. The only city notices that mention paint here are from August 2024 ward cleanups; no current city page says the yard takes paint. The yard also hands out recycling buckets and mattress bags (up to two bags per household per year).
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.
22000 Burlington-Columbus Rd, Florence, NJ 08518
540 Ridge Rd, Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852
1601 Union Landing Rd, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077
76 Gravel Hill Rd-Spotswood Rd, Monroe Township, NJ 08831
314 State Rte 12, Flemington, NJ 08822
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Check the labels. If it’s latex, the county days won’t take it. Call Solid Waste at 609-989-3175 and ask whether the Calhoun Street yard takes it or whether dried cans can go out with your garbage.
These are what MCIA’s hazardous waste days are for, and they’re free for Mercer County residents with ID. The 2026 days are over, so keep the cans sealed and watch MCIA for 2027 dates. Ask the Calhoun Street yard too.
Put out furniture and yard waste only. Trenton’s 2025 cleanup notice listed chemicals as not accepted and gave the Street Division number, 609-989-3200.
MCIA’s days are for Mercer County residents, and its flyer doesn’t say businesses can come. Call MCIA at 609-278-8086 before bringing work paint, and expect to need a private hazardous waste company.
Call Trenton Solid Waste at 609-989-3175 before doing anything with paint. The city said in 2024 that paint could go to the Sanitation Yard at 707 Calhoun Street, but no current city page confirms it. Mercer County’s free hazardous waste days take oil-based paint (not latex) from county residents, but all three 2026 days have passed, so hold oil paint until 2027 dates are posted.
Trenton, the state capital in Mercer County, has no year-round paint drop-off. New Jersey has no PaintCare program, so stores don’t take paint back. Oil-based paint goes to the Mercer County Improvement Authority’s hazardous waste days in Lawrence Township, and all three 2026 days are over. In 2024 the city said paint could go to its Sanitation Yard on Calhoun Street, but no current city page says so. Call before you bring anything.
In August 2024, Trenton told residents that paint and electronics could go to the Sanitation Yard at 707 Calhoun Street, or to call 609-989-3175. The city’s current Solid Waste page doesn’t repeat that, so treat it as unconfirmed. Call and ask whether it still takes paint, which kinds, and when. Lines are open Monday–Friday, 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
MCIA held its 2026 hazardous waste days at the Dempster Fire Training School on March 21, June 13 and September 26. All three have passed. They take oil-based paint, thinner, stain, varnish and spray cans from Mercer County residents with ID. Store your cans until 2027 dates are posted.
MCIA’s list says oil-based paint only, no latex. Trenton’s web pages don’t say how to throw out latex. Ask Solid Waste at 609-989-3175 whether dried latex can go out with your garbage before you set it at the curb.
Trenton’s fall 2025 citywide cleanup picked up furniture and yard waste by ward. Chemicals were on the not-accepted list. The city said to call the Street Division at 609-989-3200 to arrange those items instead.
Trenton’s 2026 flyer says garbage goes out no earlier than 10 p.m. the night before and by 7 a.m. on pickup day, in a can. No can or bag may weigh more than 50 pounds. Garbage set out on a city holiday can bring a fine.
There is no free store take-back in New Jersey. Give usable paint to a neighbor, a church or a community group. MCIA’s October 17, 2026 event in Trenton (651 South Broad Street) is for paper shredding only, not paint. The city’s bulk-item pickup (609-989-3175) is for furniture and appliances, not paint.
Keep oil-based paint and stain in the original labeled cans with lids tight, and store them away from heat until a county day. Check each label: “clean up with soap and water” means latex. Have your New Jersey driver’s license or other ID ready; the county days require it.
Full preparation checklist →There’s no posted year-round site. Call Trenton Solid Waste at 609-989-3175 and ask if the Sanitation Yard at 707 Calhoun Street takes paint. The city said it did in 2024, but its current pages don’t say so. Mercer County’s 2026 hazardous waste days are all over.
MCIA hasn’t posted 2027 dates yet. In 2026 they were March 21, June 13 and September 26 at 350 Lawrence Station Road. Call 609-278-8086 or check mcianj.org.
No. MCIA’s event list says oil-based paint only, no latex.
No. Trenton’s 2025 citywide cleanup didn’t take chemicals. Call the Street Division at 609-989-3200 about those items.
Trenton Division of Solid Waste Management, 609-989-3175, Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. For county events, MCIA at 609-278-8086.
October 7, 2026: read the City of Trenton Division of Solid Waste Management page, the 2026 trash collection flyer (image PDF), city news from August 6 and 14, 2024 (paint to the Sanitation Yard or call 609-989-3175) and September 25, 2025 (fall cleanup, chemicals not accepted), MCIA’s 2026 special events flyer and Lawrence Township’s MCIA event page. All three 2026 MCIA hazardous waste days (March 21, June 13, September 26) have passed. Not found: a current Trenton page on paint, whether the Sanitation Yard still takes paint and which kinds, whether Trenton lets dried latex go in the garbage, 2027 MCIA dates, and whether MCIA takes business paint. A Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Trenton appears in directories, but no current paint donation policy was found, so it isn’t listed. PaintCare has no New Jersey program. Peer review, October 7, 2026: the August 6, 2024 notice says “Electronic items and paint may be brought to the Sanitation Yard at 707 Calhoun Street”; the August 14, 2024 notice says to call 609-989-3175. Nothing newer mentions paint, so the guide now calls the yard unconfirmed. The 2026 flyer says the yard hands out mattress bags (two per household per year); an earlier draft wrongly said it takes mattresses. MCIA’s 2026 flyer (an image) and Lawrence Township’s page were reread: March 21, June 13, September 26, 8 a.m.–2 p.m., residents only with ID; Lawrence lists “Oil Based Paint (No Latex Paint)” and stains and varnishes.
Checked October 7, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
