Leftover paint recycling and disposal in the Portland metro

Oregon’s paint stewardship law

Oregon DEQ says Oregon was the first state to require paint manufacturers to run a program to reduce paint waste, increase reuse and recycling, and dispose of what cannot be used. The law passed in 2009, the program began as a pilot in July 2010, and the 2013 Legislature made it permanent. It is codified at ORS 459A.820 to 459A.855. DEQ describes the program as paid for by paint buyers, managed by industry through the stewardship organization PaintCare, and overseen by DEQ.

ORS 459A.822(1) defines architectural paint as interior and exterior architectural coatings sold in containers of five gallons or less, excluding industrial, original equipment and specialty coatings. Under ORS 459A.825, paint may not be sold in Oregon unless its producer takes part in an approved program, and the retailer must give the buyer information on collection opportunities at the time of sale. ORS 459A.830(1) sets the collection standard: one permanent collection site for every 30,000 residents, with 95 percent of residents within 15 miles of one.

The cost is built into the purchase price. PaintCare says its fee is charged on each container of new paint, is not a tax or a deposit, and that there is no charge to drop paint off at a PaintCare site. PaintCare also reports that a fee increase submitted to DEQ in 2026 is pending approval and would take effect in spring 2027.

What PaintCare sites take, and what they refuse

PaintCare accepts the products that carry its fee, in their original container of five gallons or less, with the original manufacturer’s label and a secured lid. It does not accept open, leaking, empty or unlabeled containers. Its accepted list includes the following.

It does not accept aerosol coatings, paint thinners and mineral spirits, solvents, two-component coatings, caulk, epoxies and adhesives, colorants and additives, deck cleaners, wood preservatives containing pesticides, roof patch, or tar and bitumen products. Several of those can go to a household hazardous waste facility instead.

• Interior and exterior house paint: latex, acrylic, water-based, alkyd, oil-based and enamel
• Primers, sealers and undercoaters
• Stains, and single-component shellacs, lacquers, varnishes and urethanes
• Deck and floor paints, including elastomeric
• Waterproofing sealers and repellents for concrete, masonry and wood (not tar-based)
• Metal coatings and rust preventatives

Metro’s hazardous waste facilities, now that MetroPaint has closed

Metro, the Portland regional government, runs two household hazardous waste facilities: Metro Central at 6161 NW 61st Ave. in Portland and Metro South at 2001 Washington St. in Oregon City. Metro says disposal is free for households, with a daily limit of 35 gallons measured by container size. Its accepted list includes paint, stains and sealants, and also aerosol cans that are not empty, which PaintCare sites refuse.

MetroPaint, Metro’s paint recycling program and its Swan Island outlet, closed permanently in 2026. Metro’s notice, dated March 31, 2026, says the program is no longer collecting, remaking or selling paint, and points residents to PaintCare and to the hazardous waste facilities above.

Leftover paint from a painting contractor

Paint a painting contractor carries away from a job is business waste. Metro lists construction and painting contractors among the businesses that generate hazardous waste, and takes business hazardous waste only from Very Small Quantity Generators, by application and appointment, for a fee. Metro’s stated limits for that status are under 220 pounds of hazardous waste a month (about 25 gallons of liquid), under 2.2 pounds of acutely hazardous waste a month, and no more than 2,200 pounds stored on site.

PaintCare offers a free large volume pickup for 100 or more gallons of program paint, and names painting contractors and property managers among those who use it. Whether touch-up cans stay at the house or leave with the painter is something the contract can say. Cans left with the owner become household paint for the drop-off options above.

Vancouver and Clark County

Washington has its own stewardship law, chapter 70A.515 RCW. It uses the same five-gallon definition of architectural paint (RCW 70A.515.020(1)), requires producers selling paint in Washington to take part in an approved plan, and bars retailers from selling paint from a producer that does not (RCW 70A.515.030). The Department of Ecology oversees the program, and PaintCare runs it. PaintCare’s Washington program began in April 2021, and drop-off at its sites is free.

Ecology says the Washington program accepts latex paint from anyone but oil-based paint only from households and small quantity generators, and that aerosols are not accepted. Clark County residents can also self-haul household hazardous waste, including paints, stains, primers, solvents, thinners and aerosols, free to the drop-off locations at the county’s transfer stations during set hours. The county limits each visit to 25 gallons or 200 pounds, asks visitors to sign a form confirming the waste is not from a business, and does not accept business hazardous waste.