Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Roanoke.
1020 Hollins Road NE, Roanoke, VA 24012
RVRA lets residents visit a transfer station 12 times a year for free (July 1–June 30). Its pages don’t say whether a paint-only stop counts as one of those visits; ask at the scale.
1271 Indiana Street, Salem, VA
RVRA lists the address without a ZIP code. The 12-free-trips-a-year rule applies to both transfer stations; RVRA doesn’t say whether a paint-only visit counts.
1020 Hollins Road NE, Roanoke, VA 24012
PaintCare’s listing shows a noon start; RVRA’s own page and calendar say 10 a.m., so plan on 10. PaintCare’s listing also says empty, dry or leaking paint containers aren’t taken; RVRA’s pages don’t say this. RVRA can cancel an event without notice for bad weather or other reasons.
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.
1020 Hollins Rd NE, Roanoke, VA 24012
555 Authority Dr, Christiansburg, VA 24068
1060 Recycle Rd, Bedford, VA 24523
309 E Main St, Radford, VA 24141
2285 Fairystone Park Hwy, Bassett, VA 24055
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Most wall paint is latex. Load up to 5 gallons and drive it to Tinker Creek or the Salem station during normal hours. Don’t dry it for the cart; the city says paint doesn’t belong in regular trash.
Register for the next third-Saturday event at Tinker Creek online or by calling 540-857-5050, no later than noon the Friday before. Bring the products in their original containers and stay under 5 gallons of liquids.
Split it up. Latex goes to a transfer station 5 gallons at a time, and every visit may count toward your 12 free trips a year. Oil-based cans go to the monthly event, which caps liquids at 5 gallons per visit.
RVRA’s free residential program only covers the Cities of Roanoke and Salem, Roanoke County and Vinton, and its policy refuses waste from other areas. Check with your own county before you drive to Hollins Road.
RVRA lets single-family rental tenants use the program, but not waste from contracted work. A tenant can bring their own paint; a hired crew needs a commercial hazardous waste service.
Take latex and spray paint to RVRA’s Tinker Creek Transfer Station (1020 Hollins Road NE) or Salem Transfer Station (1271 Indiana Street), free, up to 5 gallons per visit, Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m. or Saturday 8 a.m.–1 p.m. Don’t put paint in your Big Blue cart; the City of Roanoke doesn’t allow it. Oil-based paint and thinner go to the free third-Saturday hazardous waste event at Tinker Creek, which needs registration by noon the Friday before.
In Roanoke, Virginia, you don’t dry out paint for the trash. The City of Roanoke says paint can’t go in your Big Blue cart. Instead, the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority (RVRA) takes latex and spray paint free on any open day at its Tinker Creek and Salem transfer stations, and takes oil-based paint at a monthly appointment-only event. The same rules cover Salem, Roanoke County and Vinton. This guide is for Roanoke, Virginia, not Roanoke, Texas.
The city lists paint with batteries and motor oil as hazardous and says you can’t put it in your regular trash, because it can be dangerous in landfills and isn’t safe for sanitation workers to handle. Take it to Tinker Creek or Salem instead.
Both transfer stations take latex paint and aerosol paint cans Monday–Friday and Saturday morning. The cap is 5 gallons per visit, and it includes any motor oil or antifreeze you bring on the same trip.
Oil and enamel paint, stain, thinner and stripper go only to the third-Saturday event at Tinker Creek, starting at 10 a.m. Register online or at 540-857-5050 by noon the Friday before. There are no walk-ins.
RVRA serves only the Cities of Roanoke and Salem, Roanoke County and the Town of Vinton. Its policy turns away waste from anywhere else, so Botetourt, Bedford and Franklin County addresses need their own county’s program.
Residents get 12 free transfer-station trips a year, July through June. RVRA doesn’t say whether a paint-only stop uses one, so ask at the scale if you’re close to your limit.
Use up good paint or give it to a neighbor, school or community group. Virginia has no PaintCare program, so there is no free paint take-back at stores. If you’re over the 5-gallon limit, split latex across separate visits. Contractors and businesses can’t use RVRA’s free residential or hazardous waste programs; the city tells businesses to use commercial services. If you live in Montgomery County (Christiansburg or Blacksburg), PaintCare’s listing shows the Montgomery Regional Solid Waste Authority holds its own appointment days for county households.
Check the label: “clean up with soap and water” means latex, which goes to a transfer station any open day. Keep oil-based paint and solvents in their original, closed containers for the monthly event. Count your liquids: 5 gallons total per visit at both the transfer stations and the event, plus 75 pounds of solids at the event. Bring your registration for the Saturday event and arrive in a Virginia-licensed vehicle.
Full preparation checklist →The City of Roanoke says no. It lists paint as hazardous and says you can’t put it in regular trash. Take latex paint to the Tinker Creek or Salem transfer station instead.
To RVRA’s Tinker Creek Transfer Station at 1020 Hollins Road NE or its Salem Transfer Station at 1271 Indiana Street, Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m. or Saturday 8 a.m.–1 p.m. It’s free, up to 5 gallons per visit.
Only at RVRA’s household hazardous waste event on the third Saturday of each month at Tinker Creek, starting at 10 a.m. You must preregister by noon the Friday before. RVRA’s calendar lists events set for October 17, November 21 and December 19, 2026.
Yes. RVRA serves the Cities of Roanoke and Salem, Roanoke County and the Town of Vinton. People outside those four can’t use the free residential program.
No. RVRA’s residential policy doesn’t cover waste from contracted work, and the city says no business materials are accepted. Use a commercial hazardous waste service.
October 16, 2026: read RVRA’s Household Hazardous Waste page (third Saturday, 10 a.m., preregistration by noon Friday, 75 pounds of solids and 5 gallons of liquids, accepted list with oil or enamel-based and acrylic paint), Residential Disposal page (latex paint and aerosol paint cans at Tinker Creek and Salem during normal hours, 5 gallons), Residential Services page (12 free trips a year, hours), FAQ (latex at the transfer station, oil-based at events), the October 17, 2026 calendar entry (10 a.m.–2 p.m., Eventbrite registration, opens the fourth Monday of each month), and the Residential Disposal Policy effective July 1, 2026. Read the City of Roanoke’s Hazardous Waste Collection, Trash and Recycling and Household Hazardous Waste Disposal pages. Conflicts: the city’s disposal page lists weekday hours of 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m., while RVRA lists 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m.; PaintCare’s listing gives a noon event start, RVRA says 10 a.m. Unresolved: whether a paint-only visit counts toward the 12 free trips; the Salem station’s ZIP code; the local Habitat ReStore’s written paint policy (none found); 2027 event dates. Peer review October 16, 2026: the city’s Hazardous Waste Collection page lists the same Tinker Creek hours as RVRA (7:30 a.m.–5 p.m. weekdays); only the Environmental Management page lists 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. RVRA’s Residential Disposal web page is headed “Policy Conditions Effective July 1, 2025” while the linked policy PDF says July 1, 2026; the rules shown match. The city’s “Big Blue” is its blue trash can.
Checked October 16, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
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