Latex paint is water-based, meaning it cleans up with soap and water and is not considered a hazardous material. It is by far the most common type of paint: roughly 95% of house paints sold today are latex, and many stains are too.
To know for sure, check your paint can label. Look for words like latex, acrylic, water-based, or soap and water cleanup — any of these mean it’s latex and does not qualify for Hazardous Waste Collection drop-off.
Thankfully, multiple options are available for responsibly disposing your latex paint:
Give Your Old Paint a New Life!
Join us on October 24 for a free, drive-up Latex Paint Recycling Event.
We know how easy it is for half-empty paint cans to pile up in the basement or garage. Instead of letting them take up space or tossing them in the trash, bring them to us!
On Saturday, October 24, we will be hosting a free, drive-up collection event for Lake County residents from 9am-1pm at 8695 Broadway Ave in Merrillville, IN.
Note: this event is for latex paint only.
Oil-based paint can be brought to any of our Household Hazardous Waste Collections for safe disposal.
- Gallon cans more than half full
- Obvious sloshing sound of liquid inside
- Lid properly secured
- Cans not corroded/rusted
- Latex stains
- Cans are smaller than one gallon
- Gallon cans are less than half full
- Cans are corroded/rusty
- Rattle noises when shaken
- Paint sitting longer than one year
- Paint was stored in unheated areas, like garages or sheds, over winter or paint that was obviously frozen
By recycling the paint (and the cans themselves), we keep our community and the environment cleaner!
What Happens to the Paint?
We partner with American Paint Recyclers to ensure your leftover paint gets a second chance rather than taking up valuable space in our local landfills.
Inspection & Sorting: Every single can is opened and inspected to ensure the paint is still viable and to separate it by type and color.
Blending: Similar colors of good, reusable paint are mixed together in massive batches.
Filtering: The blended paint is carefully filtered to remove any dried flakes, debris, or impurities.
A Brand New Coat: The recycled paint is tested for quality, repackaged, used again!
Hobart Latex Paint Drop-Off
The city of Hobart collects latex paint year-round.
– No frozen paint or any other material in paint
– No leaking or rusted cans will be accepted
– No paint older than 5 years
– No oil based paint will be accepted
– No stains of any type
Hobart City Barns
340 S. Shelby Street
Hobart, IN
Mon-Fri: 7:00am – 2:45pm
Sat.: 8:00am – 11:45am
If you have any questions, please call Hobart City Barns
at (219) 942-6121.
Latex paint can safely be thrown in the trash when:
- The paint is dry.
- The lid of the paint can remains off and is thrown away separately.