Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Sanford.
331 Landfill Road, Lemon Springs, NC
This is the only place the county names for latex paint. The county's other convenience centers turn latex paint away.
1801 Nash Street, Sanford, NC 27330
Lee County has no permanent hazardous waste site; NC DEQ's list of permanent sites does not include it. This one day is the county's only option for oil-based paint.
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.
1801 Nash St, Sanford, NC 27330
28 County Services Rd, Pittsboro, NC 27312
301 W Cornelius Harnett Blved, Lillington, NC 27546
6150 Old Smithfield Rd, Apex, NC 27539
364 Eagle Springs Rd, Eagle Springs, NC 27242
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Call the Resource Management Facility at 919-499-2312 and ask whether you can drop off latex paint as a city resident. If not, dry it out with sand or kitty litter and set the can out with your weekly bulk trash.
Show your current solid waste decal and take latex paint to 331 Landfill Road during convenience center hours. Your nearer convenience center, like Colon Road or Rocky Fork Church Road, won't take it.
Hold them for the hazardous waste day at the Wicker Civic Center, set for November 7, 2026, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Keep them in their original cans and don't pour them together.
Farmers can use the county's hazardous waste day along with households. The NC Department of Agriculture's pesticide program co-sponsors it, so bring old pesticides and oil-based paint together.
The convenience centers don't take building materials, and city bulk pickup won't take remodeling debris. The county and city list two transfer stations that take construction debris for a fee: GFL at 3290 McDonald Drive (919-775-1443) and Waste Management at 2720 Wilkins Drive (919-776-7800). Leftover paint is separate: latex goes to Landfill Road, or dry it for bulk trash.
Take latex paint to the Lee County Resource Management Facility, 331 Landfill Road, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or Saturday 8 a.m. to noon; call 919-499-2312 first if you live inside Sanford city limits. Save oil-based paint, stain and thinner for the county's Household Hazardous Waste Day, set for Saturday, November 7, 2026, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Wicker Civic Center, 1801 Nash Street.
This guide is for Sanford, North Carolina, in Lee County (not Sanford, Florida or Maine). Lee County splits paint by type. Latex paint goes to the county's Resource Management Facility at 331 Landfill Road near Lemon Springs. Oil-based paint goes to one Household Hazardous Waste Day each November at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center. The county has no permanent hazardous waste site.
Lee County's convenience centers, such as Colon Road and Carbonton Road, list latex paint as not accepted. The county's paint page sends it to the Resource Management Facility on Landfill Road instead. Go before 4 p.m. on weekdays or by noon on Saturday.
The convenience centers are paid for by a fee on rural tax bills, so Sanford and Broadway residents can't use them. The Landfill Road convenience center is at the same address as the paint drop-off, and the county doesn't say whether city residents can leave latex there. Call 919-499-2312 before you load the car.
The Household Hazardous Waste Day is the only Lee County option for oil-based paint, thinner and solvents. It is open to every Lee County household, city or rural, and to farmers. Businesses can't use it.
The City of Sanford's weekly bulk pickup takes paint cans only if they are empty or dried out with sand or kitty litter. Liquids of any kind are not collected, so never set out a can that still sloshes.
Rural convenience centers need the 2026-27 solid waste decal, good through June 30, 2027. The county mails it to the person who pays the fee, so renters get it from their landlord. Extra decals are $5 at 805 S. 5th Street.
North Carolina has no PaintCare program, so paint stores don't take old paint back. Use up good paint or give it away. NC DEQ says leftover paint can be air-dried or mixed with litter, and the city takes dried cans with bulk trash. Lee County residents in Broadway, Lemon Springs and the rural parts of the county use the same two options in this guide. Raleigh (Wake County) and Fayetteville (Cumberland County) have their own guides, but those county sites serve their own residents. NC DEQ lists permanent hazardous waste sites in nearby Chatham and Moore counties; ask those counties whether they take Lee County residents before you go.
Keep paint in its original can with the label showing and the lid on tight. For the November event, keep oil-based products in their own containers or a sealed, leakproof one, don't mix them, and write down what's in any unlabeled can. Ride with the paint away from kids and pets. To dry latex at home, take the lid off and stir in sand or kitty litter until it won't pour.
Full preparation checklist →To the Lee County Resource Management Facility, 331 Landfill Road. It is open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to noon. The county's other convenience centers don't take latex paint.
The 2026 day is set for Saturday, November 7, 2026, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center, 1801 Nash Street. The city says it is held the first Saturday of November each year. Bring oil-based paint, thinners, solvents, pesticides and other household chemicals.
No. The county says Sanford and Broadway residents can't use the six convenience centers because they don't pay the rural solid waste fee. Everyone in Lee County can use the November hazardous waste day. For latex paint at Landfill Road, call 919-499-2312 first.
Only if the can is empty or the paint is dried out with sand or kitty litter. The city won't collect liquids.
No. The county says no waste from businesses will be accepted. It is for households and farmers only.
Checked October 16, 2026: Lee County's Latex Paint / Fluorescent Bulb page, Resource Management Facility page (331 Landfill Road, hours, latex paint), convenience center page (six sites, no latex paint or hazardous waste, rural residents only), decal page and FAQ, and the 2026 Household Hazardous Waste Day page (Nov. 7, 2026, households and farmers, no businesses); the City of Sanford's Waste Services and Bulk Trash pages; NC DEQ's permanent facility list (no Lee County site) and household hazardous waste page; and PaintCare's locator data (North Carolina is not a program state; its event listing says latex is not taken). Unresolved: the county doesn't say whether Sanford and Broadway residents may drop latex paint at the Resource Management Facility, whose convenience area is otherwise for rural decal holders; no latex quantity limit or fee is published; the facility's ZIP code is not given; the City of Sanford's pages name both Waste Industries and GFL as its contractor; we found no Sanford-specific paint reuse store policy and did not confirm whether Chatham or Moore County sites take Lee County residents. Peer review Oct 16, 2026: rechecked every source; the November 7 day is worded as 'set for' and needs a past-tense update after that date. No container rule is published for latex at Landfill Road.
Checked October 16, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
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