Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in San Marcos.
634 E. Hopkins St., San Marcos, TX 78666
It's across E. Hopkins from the big H-E-B. This is a drive-through: stay in your vehicle until a worker comes to you. Bring paint in the original can or a leak-free container with a lid, label it if you can, and carry it in the trunk or truck bed.
634 E. Hopkins St., San Marcos, TX 78666
What's on the shelves changes week to week.
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.
634 E Hopkins, San Marcos, TX 78666
550 Landa St, New Braunfels, TX 78130
2514 Business Center Dr, Austin, TX 78744
403 S Sequin, Converse, TX 78109
1800 Wurzbach Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78216
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Leave the paint off that load. The Hays County Solid Waste Collection Event at Civic Center Loop on Saturday, October 24, 2026 takes furniture and bulky trash but says no paints or chemicals. The HHW facility on E. Hopkins is open Saturday mornings.
Drive to San Marcos. The county's Wimberley and Driftwood collection sites list paints as not accepted, and the county says all household hazardous waste goes to 634 E. Hopkins.
Split it up. The facility takes 300 pounds per vehicle per day and six 5-gallon buckets per visit, so bring part on Friday and part on another day.
Drop them off; the city says items in good condition go to the Reuse Center for Hays County residents. San Marcos garbage customers can also donate to the Reuse Warehouse (Saturday 8–11:30 a.m.), whose photo gallery shows donated paints and stains. Staff decide what they accept.
The facility can't take business waste. The city's business sheet lists private options, including Hazardous Waste Experts (800-936-2311), which has no minimum.
Drive your paint to the household hazardous waste facility at 634 E. Hopkins St. (across from H-E-B) on a Friday noon–3:30 or Saturday 8–noon; it's free for Hays County residents with proof of residency. Bring up to six 5-gallon buckets per visit. The county's Wimberley and Driftwood sites and its October 24 cleanup event don't take paint.
In San Marcos, Texas (Hays County), paint goes to the city's household hazardous waste facility at 634 E. Hopkins St., across from the big H-E-B. It's a free drive-through for all Hays County residents, open Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. You can also pick up free paint at its Reuse Center.
The facility is open only those two windows each week. Stay in your car; a worker comes to you.
You can bring up to six 5-gallon buckets of paint per visit. The facility takes no more than 300 pounds per vehicle per day, about thirty 1-gallon cans. No container over 5 gallons.
Hays County says all household hazardous waste goes to 634 E. Hopkins, and the site is open to every Hays County resident. That includes Kyle, Buda, Wimberley and Dripping Springs. Bring proof you live in the county.
The county's citizen collection sites at 1691 Carney Lane (Wimberley) and 20290 FM 150 (Driftwood) list paints as not accepted.
The Reuse Center lets Hays County residents take up to 5 items each, free, on Saturday 8–noon. The city lists paint among the items, but stock changes week to week.
Texas has no PaintCare program, so stores won't take paint back. Give good paint away or leave it for the Reuse Center. TCEQ says a can less than a quarter full can be left open to dry and then trashed; the San Marcos facility won't take dried or empty cans. TCEQ's list also shows Austin's Recycle and Reuse Center taking Hays County residents. Austin's page says it needs an appointment and charges people who don't live in Austin or Travis County, but lists no amount.
Bring proof you live in Hays County. The city doesn't say which proof it takes, so a driver's license and a utility bill are a safe pair. Keep paint in the original can or a leak-free container with a lid. Don't combine products. Load it in the trunk or truck bed, and stay under 300 pounds.
Full preparation checklist →At the household hazardous waste facility, 634 E. Hopkins St., across from the big H-E-B. It's open Friday noon–3:30 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.–noon.
Yes, for Hays County residents with proof of residency.
Yes. Hays County sends all household hazardous waste to this facility, and it's open to every Hays County resident.
No. The county's October 24, 2026 Solid Waste Collection Event at Civic Center Loop says no paints and no chemicals. Take paint to 634 E. Hopkins instead.
Yes. Hays County residents can take up to 5 items from the Reuse Center on Saturdays, 8 a.m.–noon.
Checked October 13, 2026: the City of San Marcos HHW facility page, drop-off page, Reuse Center page, brochure (PDF), business resources sheet (PDF) and Reuse Warehouse page; Hays County's Recycling & Solid Waste page, its Oct. 24, 2026 event page and its citizen-site items list (PDF); TCEQ's HHW contacts list (Sept. 22, 2026) and guide; Austin's drop-off page; PaintCare's locator data. Address: every facility page, the brochure, Hays County and TCEQ say 634 E. Hopkins; 630 E. Hopkins appears only in the city website's general footer (with the main city number, 512-393-8000), so it is not a conflict about the facility. Conflicts: phones differ (512-393-8412 on city pages, 512-393-8407 in PaintCare's listing, 512-393-8419 for the TCEQ contact). The city doesn't say which proof of residency it accepts. The Reuse Center page says hours moved to Saturday 8–noon 'beginning June 27' without a year. Austin's page says the center needs an appointment and fees apply outside Austin and Travis County, but lists no amount. The brochure (Jan. 2025) says empty containers and waste from outside Hays County are refused; the drop-off page says dried paint cans are refused. Not found: a city rule on dried latex in curbside carts.
Checked October 13, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
