Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Jacksonville.
350 S. Marine Blvd., Building A, Jacksonville, NC 28540
The city doesn’t collect liquid paint. Lithium batteries aren’t accepted either; the city points to Call2Recycle.
415 Meadowview Road, Jacksonville, NC 28540
The county’s own page doesn’t say where collection days are held; the landfill location comes from PaintCare’s listing. At the landfill, commercial drivers and passengers (for example, anyone hauling with a dump trailer) must wear a reflective vest at the landfill ($7 on site; $50 fine without one). The rule doesn’t apply to residents bringing household trash.
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.
415 Meadowview Rd, Jacksonville, NC 28540
3820 Bridges St, Morehead City, NC 28557
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Stir in sand, dirt or cat litter until it’s solid, leave the lid off and put the can in your City trash cart on collection day. The city accepts dried paint cans with lids removed.
Store them sealed and wait for Onslow County’s next household hazardous waste day. PaintCare’s listing places it at the landfill, 415 Meadowview Road. Call 910-937-1449 for the date. Expect a weight-based fee, $3 minimum.
Keep the paint out of it. The city prohibits paints and any other liquids in the trailer. Dry small amounts for your cart and save the rest for a county collection day.
Absorb it in cat litter, sawdust, sand or dirt, let it harden, keep it in a container, and call Sanitation at 910-938-5337 about collection. Don’t pour it down any drain.
In Jacksonville, NC, harden leftover paint with cat litter, sawdust, sand or dirt, take the lid off, and put the dried can in your City trash cart; wet paint isn’t allowed. To get rid of liquid paint, wait for Onslow County’s next household hazardous waste day (PaintCare’s listing places it at the landfill, 415 Meadowview Road). Ask the county at 910-937-1449 for the date; paint there is charged by weight.
In Jacksonville, North Carolina, there’s no year-round drop-off for liquid paint. Onslow County takes paint only on its household hazardous waste days, held a few times a year. PaintCare’s listing places them at the county landfill on Meadowview Road in Jacksonville, NC. Between those days, the City of Jacksonville tells you to harden paint and put the dried can in your trash cart. This guide is for Jacksonville in Onslow County, NC, not Jacksonville, Florida.
Onslow County says it can hold household hazardous waste events only certain times a year, for a short time, because of its permits. The county page lists no upcoming date. The 2026 days, May 9 and October 10 (9 a.m.–2 p.m.), came only from PaintCare’s listing, and both have passed.
Jacksonville’s Household Trash page says dried paint cans with the lids removed are acceptable, and suggests mixing in sand or dirt to dry what’s left. Wet paint, gasoline, solvents and flammable liquids are not allowed in the cart.
The city’s Hazardous Materials guide lists latex paint, solvent-based paint, paint thinner and paint stripper with the same steps: absorb with cat litter, sawdust, sand or dirt, let it harden, keep it contained, and call Sanitation for collection. Never pour any of them down a drain or on the ground.
Onslow County’s current fee table (a new schedule took effect July 15, 2026) charges $83 per ton for household hazardous waste, with a $3 minimum for up to 100 pounds. Loads up to 100 pounds pay the $3 minimum. PaintCare’s listing still shows the older $80-per-ton rate.
Onslow County’s convenience sites in Swansboro, Holly Ridge (Folkstone), Midway Park, Ramsey Road and Verona, and the Richlands and Silverdale (Maysville) mobile units, take household trash and recycling, motor oil, cooking oil and antifreeze. Paint isn’t on their list. Ask the site monitor, as the county suggests, before you bring any.
North Carolina has no PaintCare program, so paint stores don’t take leftovers back for free. Give usable paint to a neighbor, church or school. The city’s Dial-A-Trailer ($50) can’t take paint or any liquids. Businesses can’t use the household hazardous waste days, according to PaintCare’s listing; ask the landfill at 910-989-2107 about commercial disposal.
For the trash cart: open the can, stir in cat litter, sawdust, sand or dirt until no liquid is left, let it harden, and leave the lid off. For a hazardous waste day: keep paint in a sealed, labeled can. PaintCare’s listing says the county doesn’t take empty, dry or leaking cans.
Full preparation checklist →No. This guide is for Jacksonville, North Carolina, in Onslow County. Jacksonville, Florida has its own guide.
Only if it’s dried. The city says dried paint cans with the lids removed are fine in your cart. Wet paint isn’t allowed.
The county’s page doesn’t list one. The only 2026 dates, May 9 and October 10, came from PaintCare’s listing, and both have passed. Call the Recycling and Community Coordinator at 910-937-1449.
On hazardous waste days, household hazardous waste is $83 per ton, with a $3 minimum for up to 100 pounds.
The county’s list for those sites covers trash, recycling, oil, cooking oil and antifreeze, not paint. Ask the site monitor before you bring paint.
October 16, 2026: read Onslow County’s Household Hazardous Waste page in a browser (the county site blocks automated fetches). It lists paint and paint-related material and says events happen only certain times a year because of permits, with no date posted. Read the county Landfill Fees page (household hazardous waste $83 per ton, $3 minimum up to 100 pounds; vest rule), Solid Waste page (415 Meadowview Road, Monday–Saturday 6:30 a.m.–5 p.m.; new fees from July 15, 2026), Convenience Sites and fee pages (locations, hours, what sites take; paint not listed) and Recycling Info (coordinator 910-937-1449). Read the City of Jacksonville’s Household Trash, Hazardous Materials, Bulky Items & Dial-A-Trailer and Sanitation pages. PaintCare’s locator lists the landfill as a non-program, household-only site with 2026 dates May 9 and October 10 (both past), a $80-per-ton fee with $0.80 minimum (older than the county’s schedule) and no empty, dry or leaking containers. North Carolina is not a PaintCare state. The county’s brochure PDFs were blocked. October 17, 2026 fact-check: re-read all six county pages in a browser and the four city pages by curl. The county’s HHW page doesn’t name a location or residency rule; the landfill location, the 2026 dates and the households-only rule come only from PaintCare’s listing and are labeled. The fee table doesn’t carry its own date; the July 15, 2026 date is from the Solid Waste page. Unresolved: the next collection date; whether residents of Camp Lejeune or other bases can use the county days; whether the city collects hardened paint separately when you call.
Checked October 16, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
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