Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Arlington.
565 31st St S, Arlington, VA 22202
Since October 2025 the drop-off has been in the surface lot across from the Water Pollution Control Plant. Older listings may point elsewhere. The Trades Center recycling drop-off at 2700 S. Taylor St. does not take paint.
1425 N Quincy St, Arlington, VA 22207
The site is across from Washington-Liberty High School. The county’s HHM facility on 31st St S closes during E-CARE events, so plan on this site, not the facility, that Saturday.
21 paint stores and 4 hazardous waste sites, closest first. Paint stores take house paint, stain and varnish, usually up to a set amount per visit. Hazardous waste sites also take chemicals like thinner, but some only serve local residents. Call before you go.
Who: Households and Businesses in Maryland
Hours: Paint is accepted during regular business hours. Call ahead for hours and to make sure the store can accept the amount and type of paint you would like to recycle.
Products: This site accepts latex and oil-based house paint, stains and varnish in containers up to 5 gallons in size. This site does not accept aerosols (spray paint or other spray products), containers without original labels, or containers that are leaking or empty.
Each listing below shows only what’s different, plus its limit.
1425 N. Quincy St, Arlington, VA 22207
2332 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007
565 31st Street S, Arlington, VA 22202
2511 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009
3124 Mount Pleasant St NW, Washington, DC 20005
4500 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016
3224 Colvin St, Alexandria, VA 22314
1120 3rd St NE, Washington, DC 20002
1115 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003
910 Bladensburg Rd NE, Washington, DC 20002
3405 8th St NE, Washington, DC 20017
2500 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003
4809 Auburn Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814
7001 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912
8301 Grubb Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
5420 St Barnabas Rd, Oxon Hill, MD 20745
8230 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910
815 Wayne Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910
1823 East-West Hwy, Hyattsville, MD 20783
4671 Tanglewood Dr, Hyattsville, MD 20781
10504 Connecticut Ave, Kensington, MD 20895
4080A Howard Ave, Kensington, MD 20895
5268-M Nicholson Ln, Kensington, MD 20895
5528 Nicholson Ln, North Bethesda, MD 20852
7000 Marlboro Pike, Forestville, MD 20747
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
That’s under 25 percent full, so you can stir in kitty litter until it’s a thick paste, bag the can and put it in your trash cart.
Bring them to the HHM facility on a Saturday, or to E-CARE on October 17, 2026 (25-can limit on paint). Both are free for residents.
Call 703-228-5000 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to book a Monday–Thursday slot at the HHM facility.
The Trades Center drop-off on S. Taylor St. takes recycling only, not paint. Drive to 565 31st St. S. instead.
Take paint to Arlington County’s HHM facility at 565 31st St. S. on a Saturday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., no appointment needed; it’s free. Latex cans less than a quarter full can be hardened with kitty litter and trashed instead. On Saturday, October 17, 2026, use the E-CARE event at 1425 N. Quincy St. instead, because the facility is closed.
Arlington is a county, not a city, so Arlington County runs everything here. Its Household Hazardous Materials facility at 565 31st St. S. takes paint for free: Saturdays without an appointment, Monday to Thursday by appointment. The fall E-CARE event is Saturday, October 17, 2026.
If a latex can is less than a quarter full, the county says you can harden it at home with kitty litter, bag it and put it in your trash cart. If it’s more than a quarter full, bring it to the HHM facility. Oil-based paint always goes to the facility.
The HHM facility takes drop-offs Saturdays 9 a.m.–3 p.m. with no appointment. Monday to Thursday you must call 703-228-5000 first. It’s closed on the Saturdays around major holidays.
The fall E-CARE event runs 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m. at 1425 N. Quincy St., across from Washington-Liberty High School. It takes up to 25 cans of paint products from county residents with ID. The HHM facility is closed during E-CARE, so go to Quincy Street that day.
Since October 2025, the HHM drop-off has been in the surface lot across from the Water Pollution Control Plant at 565 31st St. S. The Trades Center recycling drop-off at 2700 S. Taylor St. takes cans, paper and food scraps, but not paint.
Virginia has no PaintCare program, so stores don’t take paint back. In Arlington, small amounts of latex (under a quarter can) can be hardened and trashed. Everything else goes to the HHM facility or an E-CARE event. Businesses can’t use either and need a paid hazardous waste company.
For small latex leftovers, wear gloves and old clothes, work somewhere airy, and stir in kitty litter until it’s a thick paste. Put the can in a trash bag inside your cart. For drop-off, keep paint in original cans, close the lids and bring ID showing you live or work in Arlington.
Full preparation checklist →No. Arlington is a county with no separate city government, so Arlington County runs trash, recycling and hazardous waste for the whole area.
Only if the can is less than 25 percent full and you harden it first with kitty litter. Fuller cans go to the HHM facility.
Not on Saturdays, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Monday to Thursday, call 703-228-5000 to book.
Saturday, October 17, 2026, 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m., at 1425 N. Quincy St. Bring ID; there’s a 25-can limit on paint products.
The HHM facility takes drop-offs from Arlington residents and employees. E-CARE events are for residents only.
October 7, 2026: read Arlington County’s HHM page, E-CARE page, Fall 2026 E-CARE event page and Trades Center page, Virginia DEQ’s resident guidance, and PaintCare’s locator data. The October 17, 2026 E-CARE is upcoming as of this review. The county page lists no paint quantity limit at the HHM facility and does not say how employees prove they work in the county. PaintCare’s listing put the E-CARE entrance off S. Dinwiddie St., which looks like an older event site; the county’s fall 2026 page says 1425 N. Quincy St., and we used that.
Checked October 7, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
