How to Dispose of Paint and solvents
Paint and solvents cannot go in a dumpster at all. For the rest of what you are clearing out, most people take a 10-yard, a median of $345 nationally, typically $295 to $399 depending on where you are.
What the rest of the load costs
Paint and solvents are not going in a container, but whatever else you are clearing out probably is. A 10-yard is the size most cleanouts land on.
| Cost | Median | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| 10-yard container | $345 | 653 companies |
| Each extra ton | $76 | 845 companies |
| Each extra day | $16 | 876 companies |
Typically $295 to $399 depending where you are, including 2 tons and 7 days before the extras start.
Those are medians of prices companies publish themselves, from 1,395 of them. Your own town's figure is on the price index, and the calculator will add the weight and the days for you.
Get a price for your load. Leave a number and companies near you call back, free and with no obligation to book.
Find companies near youWhere it costs most and least
| State | Median | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | $465 | 8 companies |
| Massachusetts | $450 | 26 companies |
| New Jersey | $443 | 24 companies |
| North Carolina | $295 | 21 companies |
| Iowa | $280 | 11 companies |
| California | $263 | 34 companies |
A $202 difference for the same container.
How much paint and solvents weigh
A full gallon is about 12 lb.
Why it is refused
Liquid paint is household hazardous waste and cannot go in a dumpster. Fully dried latex usually can.
Worth knowing. Dry latex out with cat litter or a hardener, leave the lid off until it is solid, and it becomes ordinary debris.
Where it goes instead
Oil-based paint and solvents go to a household hazardous waste day, free in most counties.
Getting it ready
To solidify a latex tin: stir in kitty litter, sawdust or a shop-bought hardener at roughly one part to two parts paint, then leave the lid off somewhere ventilated until it sets hard all the way through rather than skinning over. A gallon takes a day or two. Thin coats in the bottom of a tin dry faster if you just open it. Oil-based tins, solvents, stains and thinners have no equivalent trick, which is what sends them to the hazardous waste route below.
The same trip usually turns up two or three other things a hauler will not take. The full refused list is short. See what else fits in a 10 yard.
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See what it costs where you are
Every company we list publishes its own prices where it has them, ranked by Index Score, and no one paid to be on the list. Find the ones near you and compare before you book.