Guide for Reuse, Repair, Recycling, and Safe Disposal
for Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and the City of Palo Alto
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Paint - Interior & Exterior - New/Unopened

Interior and exterior architectural paints: latex, acrylic, water-based, alkyd, oil-based, enamel (including textured coatings), as well as field and lawn paints.

Offer it up to community members, use the HHW Facilities to drop-off for them to offer in Reuse Programs for highest and best use.

Drop-off paint for recycling at no cost to a local PaintCare site. Accepted items include house paint as well as primers, stains, sealers, and clear coatings such as shellac and varnish.

Paint Waste: Empty, dried out paint cans and buckets may be accepted for recycling. Stirrers, pans and brushes with dried paint go into the garbage. Chemical soaked rags are accepted by some Household Hazardous Waste Facilities. Empty spray paint belongs in the recycling bin (cap off); use up or safely dispose of cans spray paint. Water used to clean paint brushes with acrylic paint (water-based) can be poured down the drain. Paint thinner used to clean paint brushes used with oil-based paint is considered hazardous waste for residents and businesses to bring into a hazardous waste facility. Find the recycled paint and primer made with paint dropped-off at HHW Facilities and PaintCare.org locations made by Visions Quality Coatings at your local ReStore (Habitat for Humanity). Find discounted paint in "oops" sections of stores that sell paint.

Vendors

Vendor Address City Destination Disposal Method Notes
Golden City Building Supply 1279 Pacific Ave. San Francisco Recycle Free Drop-off There is a 5 gallon limit per visit.You can put EMPTY, DRY latex paint cans in the blue bin.
Brownies Hardware 1563 Polk St. San Francisco Recycle Free Drop-off
San Francisco Sash 2141 Mission St. San Francisco Recycle Free Drop-off There is a 5 gallon limit per visit.
Creative Paint (5435 Geary) 5435 Geary Blvd. San Francisco Recycle Free Drop-off
Recology SF Household Hazardous Waste Home Collection 501 Tunnel Ave San Francisco Recycle Free Pick-up San Francisco Residents only.
Fredericksen Hardware 3029 Fillmore St. San Francisco Recycle Free Drop-off
Recology SF Household Hazardous Waste Facility 501 Tunnel Ave. San Francisco Recycle Free Drop-off Limit of 15 gallons or 125 pounds per day of all household hazardous waste. San Francisco residents only. Address verification required. Open Thursday-Saturday only from 8am-4pm.
Recology SF Business Haz. Waste Drop-Off (VSQG Program) 501 Tunnel Ave. San Francisco Recycle Drop-off for a Fee Quantity limits and disposal fees apply. You must qualify and make an appointment in advance. San Francisco businesses only.
Habitat for Humanity ReStore San Jose 1608 Las Plumas Ave. San Jose Reuse Free Drop-off Interior or exterior latex paint only. Paint must be in it's original container and containers must be full with legible labels. Although donation pick-up is offered, it is not guaranteed.
Creative Paint - Benjamin Moore (San Leandro) 1120 Davis St San Leandro Recycle Free Drop-off 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. Who Can Use This Program: Households and Businesses in California. Limit: 20 gallons per visit. 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. See accepted products https://www.paintcare.org/products/.
Outdoor Supply Hardware (San Leandro) 300 Floresta Blvd San Leandro Recycle Free Drop-off 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. Who Can Use This Program: Households and Businesses in California. Limit: 10 gallons per visit. 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. See accepted products https://www.paintcare.org/products/.
Vista Paint 15611 Hesperian Blvd San Lorenzo Recycle Free Drop-off 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. Who Can Use This Program: Households and Businesses in California. Limit: 15 gallons per visit. 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. See accepted products https://www.paintcare.org/products/.
Vista Paint 14500 San Pablo Ave San Pablo Recycle Free Drop-off 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. Who Can Use This Program: Households and Businesses in California. Limit: 15 gallons per visit. 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. See accepted products https://www.paintcare.org/products/.
Habitat for Humanity ReStore Sonoma 1201 Piner Road Santa Rosa Reuse Free Drop-off Interior or exterior latex paint only. Paint must be in its original container and containers must be full with legible labels.
Habitat for Humanity ReStore Monterey Bay 4230 Gigling Rd Seaside Reuse Free Drop-off Interior or exterior latex paint only. Paint must be in its original container and containers must be full with legible labels.
San Francisco Recycling 170 S. Spruce Ave South San Francisco Recycle Pick-up for a Fee No thinners, aerosols (spray cans), solvents, or oil-based products; leaking, or corroded containers are not accepted. Paint must be labeled and in original containers. PaintCare partner. Containers can be provided in advance depending on needs and requirements. $5/gallon. Cubic yard box - $150 deposit for optional container. Per-trip fee of $45-$65 per trip applied depending on location; minimum $750 charge for paint, per visit, applies (excluding container deposits, and trip charge).
North State Environmental (South San Francisco) 220 South Spruce Avenue
Suite 200
South San Francisco Recycle Pick-up for a Fee
SMaRT Station 301 Carl Rd Sunnyvale Recycle Free Drop-off Must be in original container. Drop off is Monday through Friday.
PaintCare California Drop-off Location Finder 901 New York Ave. Washington DC Recycle Free Drop-off PaintCare offers drop-off sites throughout California where the public can take unwanted paint for recycling. These sites are available to households, businesses, government agencies, and others with leftover paint. Enter your zip code, city and state, or street address to find the nearest, most convenient paint drop-off site to you. All PaintCare sites accept up to 5 gallons per visit (some take more). Please call ahead to confirm business hours and ask if they can accept the type and amount of paint you would like to recycle. Sites do not accept aerosol coatings, leaking, unlabeled, or empty containers. See https://www.paintcare.org/products/.
Habitat for Humanity ReStore (Watsonville) 555 Main St Watsonville Reuse Free Drop-off Interior or exterior latex paint only. Paint must be in its original container and containers must be full with legible labels.

Curbside Service

RE:Source is an online directory for reuse, repair and proper disposal options for the California East Bay area and Palo Alto. Our goal is to connect you with the best options for what you need to get rid of or repair. Please note that we do not accept any items directly.

If you have questions or feedback about this directory, please get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.

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