Item: Household paint — latex/water-based, oil-based/alkyd, stains, varnishes, sealers, spray paint and aerosol coatings, paint thinners, turpentine and leftover paint cans Jurisdiction: City of Dallas Department of Sanitation Services service area for curbside waste; the paint route itself is a Dallas County program. The Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center (HCCC) at 11234 Plano Road serves Dallas and the named participating Dallas County HHW cities/areas; every other city pays a published minimum. Multifamily and commercial properties inside Dallas are a separate service track. Official sources: City of Dallas Sanitation Services (Household Hazardous Chemicals, Brush and Bulky Item Collection, Residential Garbage Collection, Landfill and Transfer Stations, Authorized Private Haulers, Commercial and Multi-Family Collection, Multifamily Recycling Ordinance FAQ), the Brush & Bulky 2025/2026 calendar (December 2025 water-bill insert), Dallas County Consolidated Services HHW (main, What To Bring, Paint Tips, Home Check List, Collection Center Map), Dallas City Code Chapter 18, TCEQ, PaintCare, Sherwin-Williams Last verified: September 2026 · Next review: December 2026
Quick answer: Dallas paint disposal at a glance
Dallas takes paint in no curbside channel. Paint and chemicals sit on the City's brush-and-bulky "No Paints or Chemicals" list — these items "are not accepted for curbside collection" — and paint is named among the household hazardous wastes that must not go in the garbage roll cart.
Household paint goes to the Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center (HCCC), 11234 Plano Road, Dallas, TX 75243-8506, (214) 553-1765. Drop-off is free for Dallas and the other participating Dallas County cities and areas with a driver's license plus a water bill or other utility bill showing a participating-city address. Residents of all other cities "must pay a minimum of $100.00 for waste management fees."
Hours: Tuesday 9:00 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; 2nd and 4th Saturdays 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Closed Mondays, Fridays, all other Saturdays and county holidays. Containers larger than 5 gallons are refused, and so is business waste.
Two routes readers expect do not exist here. There is no Dallas curbside paint pickup and no retail take-back — Texas has no paint stewardship law, and PaintCare does not operate in Texas.
Jurisdiction warning: this guide covers addresses that receive City of Dallas sanitation service. The paint route is a county program, not a City one, and eligibility turns on your city of residence — Dallas and the member cities drop off free, everywhere else starts at a $100.00 minimum. Unincorporated Dallas County, neighbouring cities, HOAs, landlords and private haulers cannot make paint acceptable in a channel that refuses it, and their private rules sit on top of the City's non-acceptance lists. Confirm hours, the holiday list and your city's fee tier on the official page or by phone before you load the car.
Quick facts
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where household paint goes | Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center (HCCC), 11234 Plano Road, Dallas, TX 75243-8506 |
| Phone | (214) 553-1765 · City questions: 3-1-1, or (214) 670-3111 from outside the city |
| HCCC hours | Tue 9 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; Wed and Thu 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.; 2nd and 4th Sat 9 a.m.–3 p.m.; closed Mon, Fri, other Saturdays and county holidays |
| Cost | Free for Dallas and the participating cities/areas; $100.00 minimum for residents of all other cities (published floor only) |
| Documents | Driver's license plus a water bill or other utility bill showing your participating-city address |
| Container ceiling | 5 gallons. Nothing larger is accepted at the HCCC or at mobile events |
| Never a paint route | Garbage roll cart, curbside brush and bulky, the landfill and transfer stations, and hardware or paint stores |
| Second-chance route | City mobile BOPA events (Batteries, Oil, Paint, Antifreeze) — short single-day windows, dates change, residents only |
| Curbside paint pickup | None at all |
| Business, contractor or landlord paint | Not household waste — refused at every household channel; use a franchised private hauler |
| Where to confirm before travelling | (214) 553-1765 · 3-1-1 · the live City HHW page for BOPA dates |
Three doors that are closed to paint
The garbage roll cart. Household hazardous waste — "batteries, oil, cleaning products, paint, and antifreeze" — is a "do not place in the roll cart" item.
Curbside brush and bulky. The City page reads "No Paints or Chemicals — These items are not accepted for curbside collection." The Brush & Bulky 2025/2026 calendar (the December 2025 water bill insert) also lists paints under Items NOT Accepted and points household chemicals to the HCCC. This is the costliest mistake on the page: a non-compliant or oversize set-out "will generally be collected, and the customer will be automatically billed for the non-compliant set out at the rate of $60 per 5 cubic yards, billed in 5 cubic yard increments," and can draw citations. The monthly limit is 10 cubic yards, with a once-annual 20 cubic yard oversize collection available by service request the prior week, and businesses are not served at all.
The landfill and transfer stations. Residents may self-haul accepted waste free to McCommas Bluff Landfill (5100 Youngblood Road) and the Northwest (9500 Harry Hines Blvd), Fair Oaks (7677 Fair Oaks Avenue) and Southwest (4610 S. Westmoreland Road) transfer stations with proof of residency — but paints and chemicals are refused there.
The Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center
This is the only drop-off that takes the full household paint set, and it is a Dallas County program rather than a City one, which is why City pages alone will not lead you to it.
Where: 11234 Plano Road, Dallas, TX 75243-8506. From 635, go north about a mile on Plano Road: a one-story grey and white building with a tall sign, east side, between Miller Road and Forest Lane.
Hours: Tuesday 9 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.; 2nd and 4th Saturdays 9 a.m.–3 p.m.; closed Mondays, Fridays, other Saturdays and county holidays. The county publishes a holiday-closure list and posts dated closure notices rather than an HCCC-specific calendar, so check the week you plan to travel.
Cost: free for the participating cities and areas; residents of all other cities "must pay a minimum of $100.00" — a published floor with no schedule above it. Do not expect a per-gallon, per-load or per-vehicle figure, because none is published; if you are coming from a non-member city, ask for the amount by phone before you drive.
Documents: driver's license plus a water bill or other utility bill showing a participating-city address.
Accepted alongside the paint: paint and home repair products, aerosol sprays, craft and hobby supplies, cleaners and polishes, batteries, automotive fluids and oil filters, fluorescent light tubes, pool chemicals, lawn and garden chemicals, and small electronics — kept separate and labeled.
Refused: business or commercial waste; containers larger than 5 gallons; tires; explosives or ammunition; shock-sensitive materials; smoke detectors; radioactive materials; medical waste; trash or recyclables; construction debris; TVs and large appliances; prescription drugs and medicines.
Household waste only is the rule that decides most arguments: the center takes paint you generated in your own home, and it refuses anything that came from a job, a rental turnover or a business.
Mobile BOPA events — the second-chance route
The City runs mobile BOPA (Batteries, Oil, Paint and Antifreeze) collection events for small loads. Only BOPA items are accepted; the maximum is 25 gallons per household per day excluding batteries; containers larger than 5 gallons are not accepted; batteries are capped at 50 pounds per household per day with no palletized batteries; and it is residents of a member city only, with a driver's license or utility bill showing your name and address. Business material is refused. Events typically run 7:00–11:00 a.m.
Dates are the weak point. As of publication, the City page listed 2026-09-12 at Harry Stone Recreation Center, 2403 Millmar Dr, Dallas, TX 75228, and 2026-09-26 at W.H. Adamson High School, 309 E 9th St, Dallas, TX 75208, and records a 2026-01-24 event cancelled for weather. Different renderings of the same page have shown different event lists. Treat any date as an example and confirm it on the live City HHW page or by calling 3-1-1 the same day — not the week before.
Retailer take-back does not exist in Texas
In paint-stewardship states, stores collect leftover paint because a state law funds it. Texas has not passed a paint stewardship law, and PaintCare states on its Texas page that it does not operate here; no PaintCare fee is charged on Texas paint sales, and retailers are PaintCare drop-off sites only in PaintCare states. A store may accept a return under its own policy, but there is no standing take-back network to plan around, and no Home Depot, Lowe's, Sherwin-Williams or Ace listing shows a Dallas-area paint drop-off.
Which Dallas paint route fits your situation?
| Route | Eligibility | What it takes | When | Documents | Cost | Confidence | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County HCCC (primary) | Dallas and member cities; household waste only | Household paint: latex, oil-based, stains, varnishes, sealers, aerosol coatings, thinners, turpentine; containers 5 gal or smaller | Tue 9–7:30; Wed/Thu 8:30–5; 2nd and 4th Sat 9–3; closed Mon, Fri, other Sat and county holidays | Driver's license + utility bill | Free for Dallas and member cities; $100.00 minimum elsewhere | Official | The main route for any Dallas household |
| Mobile BOPA events | Member-city residents only, proof required | Paint within the BOPA set; 25 gal per household per day; containers 5 gal or smaller | Single-day, typically 7–11 a.m.; confirm the same day | Driver's license or utility bill | No fee published | Official rules; dates must be re-confirmed | Small loads outside the weekday window |
| Usable paint — keep it or pass it on | No verified reuse or exchange channel | Full or clearly usable cans | Not applicable | Not applicable | No program operates | Unverified | Avoiding disposal of good paint |
| Garbage roll cart — WRONG DOOR | Never eligible: paint is a "do not place in the roll cart" household hazardous waste | None | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable | Official | Never |
| Curbside brush and bulky — WRONG DOOR | Never eligible: "No Paints or Chemicals — These items are not accepted for curbside collection"; no business service | None | Not applicable | Not applicable | Risk is the $60 per 5 cu yd non-compliant set-out charge, in 5 cu yd increments, plus possible citations | Official | Never |
| McCommas Bluff Landfill and the three transfer stations — WRONG DOOR for paint | Dallas residents with proof of residency for accepted waste only | None — paints and chemicals refused | Not applicable to paint | Proof of Dallas residency | Free for accepted residential waste only | Official | Bulky non-chemical waste on the same trip, never the paint |
| Hardware or paint store — not available in Texas | No state or Dallas-area route exists | None guaranteed | Not applicable | Not applicable | No PaintCare fee is charged in Texas | Official negative | Never promise it to yourself or anyone else |
| Business, contractor or landlord paint | Not household waste; refused at the HCCC, BOPA and brush and bulky | Commercial waste via a franchised private hauler | Direct with the provider | Not applicable | No verified published price — do not quote one | Boundary official; pricing unverified | Landlords, contractors and businesses |
The key line: paint has no curbside pickup in Dallas, so the real choice is one drop-off center, a handful of mobile events, or a paid commercial hauler.
Route comparison — HCCC vs. BOPA events vs. the closed doors
| Route | What it gets right | What it costs you | How to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County HCCC (official) | Free for Dallas and the member cities; the only route taking the full paint set including oil-based, spray, thinner, turpentine, varnish and stain; fixed published hours; the same trip also clears batteries, automotive fluids, fluorescent tubes and small electronics | Closed Monday, Friday, all other Saturdays and county holidays; needs license plus utility bill; 5-gallon cap; no business waste; $100.00 minimum for non-member cities with nothing published above it | (214) 553-1765 or the Dallas County HHW pages — confirm the day, the holiday list and your city's fee tier |
| Mobile BOPA events (official, dates unsettled) | Convenient for a small load, usually early on a Saturday; one trip covers paint plus oil, batteries and antifreeze; residents only | Only BOPA items; 25 gallons per household per day excluding batteries; no container over 5 gallons; 50 lb battery cap and no palletized batteries; dates change and have been cancelled | The live City HHW page or 3-1-1 on the day of travel |
| Landfill and transfer stations (self-haul, not a paint route) | Free for Dallas residents with proof of residency; useful for bulky non-chemical material from the same cleanout | A paint load is refused at the gate | City Landfill and Transfer Stations page; the site or 3-1-1 |
| Curbside brush and bulky (no route for paint) | Nothing, for paint | Paint and chemicals are not accepted, and a non-compliant set-out is generally collected and billed at $60 per 5 cubic yards in 5 cubic yard increments, with possible citations; the service also excludes businesses | City Brush and Bulky page and the Brush & Bulky 2025/2026 calendar; 3-1-1 for questions |
| Garbage roll cart (no route for paint) | Nothing, for paint | Liquid paint fouls the cart and the load, and household hazardous waste is explicitly a "do not place in the roll cart" item | City Residential Garbage Collection page; 3-1-1 |
| Retailer or PaintCare take-back (does not exist here) | Nothing in Dallas | Texas has no paint stewardship law, PaintCare does not operate in Texas, and no PaintCare fee is charged on Texas paint sales | PaintCare's Texas and states pages; confirm any store-level acceptance with the store and never treat it as guaranteed |
| Paid private hauler or junk removal (pricing unpublished) | The only compliant route for business, contractor and landlord paint, and for readers who cannot self-haul | Charges a fee; no official or vendor-authoritative Dallas paint-pickup price is published | Get a written quote and compare it against the free household route before booking |
Prep before the paint leaves the house
- Keep paint in its original labeled container with the lid securely on — no leaking, empty or fire-damaged cans, and never mix products together.
- Check every container is 5 gallons or smaller.
- Keep oil-based paint, stains, varnishes, thinners and turpentine with the household hazardous waste — never the roll cart, brush and bulky, a drain or a storm sewer.
- Spray and aerosol cans go to the HCCC; "Aerosol Sprays" is on the City's accepted-items list.
- Pack cans upright and secure in the vehicle, away from children and pets.
- Bring a driver's license plus a current water or other utility bill showing your participating-city address.
- Check the hours and the county holiday list before traveling, and for a large cleanout call (214) 553-1765 or 3-1-1 first. There is no confirmed dry-latex-then-trash routine in Dallas — route the cans to the HCCC instead.
Safety and handling warnings
- Never pour paint down a drain, into a storm sewer or onto the ground.
- Never set paint, spray cans, thinner, turpentine, varnish or stain out curbside — a non-compliant set-out is billed at $60 per 5 cubic yards and can draw citations.
- Never put paint in the garbage roll cart.
- Do not mix products, and never mix oil-based with latex.
- Keep cans upright, lidded and secured in transit, away from children and pets.
- Do not take paint to the landfill or the transfer stations.
- Keep household and commercial streams separate: business, contractor and landlord paint is refused at every household channel.
The curbside rules above are City service rules, not a criminal statute. The documented risk is the $60 per 5 cubic yard non-compliant set-out billing and possible citations — enough reason to keep paint off the curb without treating a leftover can as a crime.
Apartments, renters and buildings with a private hauler
- Eligibility is residency-based, not property-type-based. No official page excludes renters; the practical gate is the proof-of-address rule.
- Master-metered buildings. A renter may not hold a water or utility bill in their own name, and no Dallas-published lease alternative was found — call (214) 553-1765 to confirm accepted documents before you drive.
- Never leave paint at a public curb, dumpster, compactor bay or alley. City garbage, recycling and brush-and-bulky are single-family and duplex services, and a paint set-out can be billed at $60 per 5 cubic yards with possible citations.
- The multifamily recycling ordinance is not a paint route. It applies at 8 or more dwelling units on a lot and covers recycling only.
- Landlord, manager or maintenance paint is not household waste. It belongs with the property owner or a franchised commercial hauler; buildings on private service may ask their hauler about paint, with pricing set in Dallas City Code Section 18-9 and no published figure.
- Renters just outside Dallas qualify only if their city is on the member list; otherwise the $100.00 minimum applies.
Business, contractor and landlord paint
Paint from a rental turnover, a flip, a contractor job or business stock is not household waste. It cannot go through the HCCC, the BOPA events or brush and bulky; a franchised private hauler is the compliant channel, and City Sanitation is the exclusive provider for single-family homes and duplexes, with private haulers barred there. Franchised haulers serve commercial, industrial and multifamily properties, priced under Dallas City Code Section 18-9. No Dallas paint-pickup price is published anywhere official: get a written quote and compare it with the free household route.
Why the boundary exists. Texas treats paint and paint-related waste as a universal waste category for regulated handlers under RG-370 and 30 TAC 335.262, while household paint falls outside the hazardous-waste rules under the household exclusion at 40 CFR 261.4(b)(1). That is why a free household program exists — and why it cannot absorb commercial volume.
Mistakes to avoid
- Setting paint out for brush and bulky — it can still be collected, at $60 per 5 cubic yards, with possible citations.
- Putting liquid paint in the roll cart.
- Taking paint to the landfill or a transfer station.
- Planning around a hardware or paint store.
- Going on a Monday, Friday, the wrong Saturday or a county holiday.
- Arriving without proof of address, with a container over 5 gallons, or with leaking or empty cans.
- Driving to a BOPA event without checking the date the same day.
- Routing contractor, landlord or business paint through the household program.
- Trusting a third-party "disposal guide" page: at least one circulates this facility at "11234 McKinney Rd" with "Tuesday–Saturday 10 AM–5 PM" hours. No official source supports either. The HCCC is on Plano Road, on the days listed above.
What this guide cannot confirm
- Drying latex paint and trashing it. No City or County page states this routine for Dallas. Confirm with (214) 553-1765, the County Paint Tips page or 3-1-1 — do not treat it as a Dallas rule because a national page says so.
- Item-level handling of oil-based paint and aerosols. Only general acceptance and the 5-gallon cap are published. The County's Paint Tips page carries a "For Latex Only:" section, which hints at different handling, but its full text could not be read here: call (214) 553-1765 or check the County What To Bring page before a large mixed load.
- Renter proof of address in master-metered buildings, charges above the $100 floor for non-member cities, and dropping off another household's paint all need a call to (214) 553-1765 — no Dallas page addresses any of them.
- Private pickup pricing. None is published or verified; get a written quote.
- Holiday closures and BOPA dates. Both move. The county posts dated closure notices rather than a fixed calendar, and one 2026 event was cancelled. Re-check the week you travel.
Official verification checklist
- Confirm the route: household paint goes to the Dallas County HCCC — never the curb, never the roll cart.
- Confirm your city is on the participating list; the fee tier turns on city of residence.
- Confirm the day, and that it is not a county holiday.
- Assemble a driver's license plus a water or other utility bill showing your participating-city address.
- Keep every container 5 gallons or smaller and the waste household-generated.
- For a BOPA event, check the live City page or call 3-1-1 that day.
- If the paint came from a business, a rental turnover or a contractor, stop and arrange a franchised private hauler.
Key contacts. Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center: 11234 Plano Road, Dallas, TX 75243-8506, (214) 553-1765. City of Dallas: 3-1-1, or (214) 670-3111 from outside the city.
Jurisdiction: what this guide covers
This guide covers household paint from addresses in the City of Dallas sanitation service area, plus the Dallas County HHW cities and areas that share the free drop-off. The paint route itself is a county program at 11234 Plano Road, so the City's curbside pages are not the whole answer, and eligibility follows your city of residence rather than your property type. Unincorporated Dallas County is named on the member list; neighbouring cities are covered only if they appear on the same list, and everyone else starts at the $100.00 minimum. Multifamily and commercial properties are a separate track — City roll-cart service or a franchised private hauler — and their rules cannot make paint acceptable where the City refuses it.
For the rest of the same cleanout, see this site's Dallas tire disposal, appliance disposal, mattress disposal, furniture disposal and e-waste disposal guides. The HCCC takes small electronics and batteries on the same trip as the paint, so a single drive can clear several streams.
FAQ
Does Dallas pick up paint at the curb? No. Paint and chemicals are on the brush-and-bulky "No Paints or Chemicals" list, and a non-compliant set-out is billed at $60 per 5 cubic yards with possible citations.
Can I put paint in the garbage cart? No — household hazardous waste including paint is a "do not place in the roll cart" item for Dallas.
Where do I take paint, and what does it cost? The Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center, 11234 Plano Road, (214) 553-1765 — free for Dallas and the other participating cities with proof of address; residents of all other cities pay the published $100.00 minimum.
What do I bring? A driver's license plus a water bill or other utility bill showing your participating-city address.
When is it open? Tuesday 9 a.m.–7:30 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., and the 2nd and 4th Saturdays 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Closed Mondays, Fridays, all other Saturdays and county holidays.
How much paint can I bring at once? No per-visit gallon limit is published for the HCCC — the rule that matters is the container cap: nothing larger than 5 gallons. At a BOPA event the cap is 25 gallons per household per day excluding batteries.
Will a paint store take leftover paint? Not as a standing program — Texas has no paint stewardship law and PaintCare does not operate in Texas, so no PaintCare fee is charged on Texas paint sales.
What about paint from a rental turnover or a contractor? That is commercial waste, refused at the HCCC, at BOPA events and in brush and bulky; it must go through a franchised private hauler.
I rent an apartment. Can I use the county drop-off? Eligibility is written as residency-based and no official page excludes renters — but bring a driver's license plus a water or other utility bill in your name. If your building is master-metered and you have no bill, call (214) 553-1765 first. Never stage paint by the dumpster, compactor or alley.
Can I dry it out and put the can in the trash? This guide could not confirm that routine for Dallas from any City or County page. Ask (214) 553-1765 or 3-1-1 before doing it, and route liquid paint to the HCCC either way.
Sources
- City of Dallas — Household Hazardous Chemicals: https://dallascityhall.com/departments/sanitation/pages/hhw.aspx
- City of Dallas HHW mirror (dallas.gov): https://dallas.gov/departments/sanitation/Pages/hhw.aspx
- Dallas County HHW / Home Chemical Collection Center: https://www.dallascounty.org/departments/consolidated-services/hhw
- Dallas County HHW — What To Bring: https://dallascounty.org/departments/consolidated-services/hhw/what-to-bring.php
- Dallas County HHW — Paint Tips: https://www.dallascounty.org/departments/consolidated-services/hhw/paint-tips.php
- Dallas County HHW — Home Check List: https://www.dallascounty.org/departments/consolidated-services/hhw/home-check-list.php
- Dallas County HHW — Collection Center Map: https://dallascounty.org/departments/plandev/hhw/map.php
- City of Dallas — Brush and Bulky Item Collection: https://dallascityhall.com/departments/sanitation/Pages/brush_and_bulky.aspx
- City of Dallas — Brush & Bulky 2025/2026 Calendar (December 2025 water bill insert PDF): https://www.dallascityhall.com/departments/sanitation/DCH%20Documents/pdf/December%20water%20bill%20insert%202025_Digital.pdf
- City of Dallas — Residential Garbage Collection: https://dallascityhall.com/departments/sanitation/pages/residential_garbage_collection.aspx
- City of Dallas — Landfill and Transfer Stations: https://dallascityhall.com/departments/sanitation/Pages/Landfill-and-Transfer-Stations.aspx
- City of Dallas — Authorized Private Haulers: https://dallascityhall.com/departments/sanitation/Pages/Franchised-Private-Haulers.aspx
- City of Dallas — Commercial and Multi-Family Collection: https://dallascityhall.com/departments/sanitation/Pages/Commercial-Recycling-and-Garbage-Collection-Service.aspx
- City of Dallas — Multifamily Recycling Ordinance FAQ: https://dallascityhall.com/departments/sanitation/Pages/FAQS_MultiFamilyRecycling.aspx
- Dallas City Code, Chapter 18 (Municipal Solid Wastes): https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/dallas/latest/dallas_tx/0-0-0-108405
- TCEQ — Household Hazardous Waste: A Guide for Texans: https://tceq.texas.gov/p2/hhw
- TCEQ — Managing Hazardous Waste as Universal Waste: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assistance/waste/universal.html
- PaintCare — Recycle Paint Texas: https://paintcare.org/states/recycle-paint-texas
- PaintCare — PaintCare States: https://www.paintcare.org/paintcare-states/
- PaintCare — Drop-off Site Locator: https://www.paintcare.org/drop-off-sites/
- Sherwin-Williams — PaintCare Program: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/paintcare+
- Sherwin-Williams — Storing and Disposing of Leftover Paint (general retailer guidance only; no Dallas store take-back exists): https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/project-center/paint/how-to-recycle-dispose-paint
Hours, fee tiers and event dates change. Verify with the Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center at (214) 553-1765 or the City of Dallas at 3-1-1 before you load the car.