Everything you need to get rid of leftover paint responsibly in Madison.
7020 Maahic Way, Madison, WI 53718
Keep going on Maahic Way to the second entrance marked “Clean Sweep”. You unload your items onto a cart or pallet yourself, then get back in your vehicle. A free Product Exchange room on site gives away usable paint and chemicals.
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.
7020 Maahic Way, Madison, WI 53718
E8795 Evergreen Ln, Baraboo, WI 53913
From PaintCare’s drop-off map ↗, updated October 6, 2026. Hours and limits are PaintCare’s. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
Don’t spend $15 on a trip. Leave the lids off until the paint dries solid. Then put the cans in your tan trash cart with the lids off.
Bring it all to Clean Sweep in one trip, since the $15 fee is per trip. Pack it in boxes or totes so nothing tips. If it fills a truck bed or tops 45 gallons, call 608-838-3212 to book a time first.
You pay the same $15 as a Madison resident because Clean Sweep’s price is for anyone living in Dane County. Bring proof that you live in the county.
Check the Product Exchange at Clean Sweep before you buy. Usable paint and thinners left by other people are free to take. You get one visit a week and can take only what you can carry to your car.
Take liquid paint, latex or oil-based, to Dane County Clean Sweep at 7020 Maahic Way (weekdays 7:15–3:15, Saturday 8–10:45). Dane County households pay $15 a trip and need proof of residency. Latex that has dried solid can go in your tan trash cart with the lid off.
In Madison, Wisconsin, liquid paint of any kind goes to Dane County Clean Sweep at the Dane County Landfill, 7020 Maahic Way. It costs Dane County households $15 a trip. Latex paint that has dried solid goes in your tan trash cart with the lid off.
The city’s Recyclopedia sends full or partly full cans of latex paint to Clean Sweep, the same as oil-based paint. Only paint that has dried solid goes in the tan trash cart, with the lid off.
Clean Sweep charges Dane County households $15 per trip for hazardous waste, not per can. Save up your paint, thinner and spray cans and bring them in one visit. Out-of-county households pay $75.
Clean Sweep is open weekdays 7:15 a.m.–3:15 p.m. but only 8–10:45 a.m. on Saturday. It’s closed all day Monday, October 12, 2026.
Clean Sweep puts usable paint, thinners and solvents on shelves for anyone to take free during open hours. You get one visit a week and can take only what you can carry out yourself. It’s for personal use, not resale.
Call 608-838-3212 before bringing 45 gallons or more of paint, stain or sealer, or a full truck bed or trailer. Clean Sweep may turn away unscheduled large loads.
Wisconsin has no PaintCare program, so stores don’t take paint back for free. To skip the $15 fee for small amounts of latex, let it dry solid and put it in your tan trash cart with the lid off. Empty paint cans go in your green recycling cart. Usable paint can go to someone who needs it, or you can pick some up free at Clean Sweep’s Product Exchange.
Keep paint in its original cans, and put any damaged can in its own plastic bag. Pack cans upright in boxes or totes. Don’t pour different products together. Bring proof of Dane County residency. Be ready to unload your own items onto a cart.
Full preparation checklist →Only after it dries solid. The city says liquid latex goes to Dane County Clean Sweep. Dried paint goes in the tan cart with the lid off.
$15 per trip for Dane County households, $75 for households from outside Dane County. Extra fees can apply to large loads.
7020 Maahic Way, at the Dane County Landfill. Keep going on Maahic Way to the second entrance marked “Clean Sweep.”
Yes, but only by appointment. Businesses pay based on what they bring and how much it weighs. The county has an online form to estimate the cost for very small businesses.
Yes. Clean Sweep’s Product Exchange gives away usable paint and chemicals during open hours. You get one visit a week, and the products come as is.
October 7, 2026: read the Dane County Clean Sweep page (hours, October 12, 2026 closing, fees, accepted and not-accepted lists, large-load and business rules) and Product Exchange page, the Wisconsin DNR household hazardous waste page, and the City of Madison Recyclopedia entries for latex paint (full or partly full: Clean Sweep), non-latex paint (Clean Sweep), dried paint (trash, lids off) and empty cans (recycling). The Recyclopedia is a script widget; entries were read through its public data feed. PaintCare’s locator lists Clean Sweep as a non-program household hazardous waste site. Not found: what counts as proof of residency, Clean Sweep’s full 2026 holiday list (only October 12 was posted on the page), and whether Habitat for Humanity of Dane County’s ReStores take sealed paint. Peer review (October 7, 2026): rechecked the Clean Sweep and Product Exchange pages and the Recyclopedia entries. Removed two claims the sources don’t make (“no need to use the scale” and a Clean Sweep canopy) and the paint hardener / kitty litter tip, which Madison’s Recyclopedia doesn’t give.
Checked October 7, 2026 against these sources, not by phone. How we research.
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