Paint, Highly Flammable or Heavy Metal Containing

Name/Address/Hours	Comments
Larimer County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility 5887 S. Taft Hill Road, Fort Collins Phone: 970-498-5760 Hours: Tues, Thurs, Fri and Sat, 9am - 4pm http://www.larimer.org/solidwaste/haz.htm	Accepts household hazardous waste, such as used motor oil and batteries, antifreeze, paint thinner, paint, solvents, cleaning supplies, alkaline and rechargeable batteries, etc., long- tube fluorescent light bulbs, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), cell phones, hypodermic needles, medications and more. Free reusable products are available at the Drop-and-Swap Shop.
Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity Re-Store 4001 S. Taft Hill Road, Ft Collins Phone: 970-223-9909 Hours: Mon - Sat, 9 am to 5:30 pm http://www.habitatstore.org	Accepts new and used items in good working condition. Automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, furniture, large appliances (may charge refundable deposit to ensure appliance is operational), plumbing supplies; recycles computer towers and printers (fee), aluminum, aluminum cans.

General Information

Full or partially full cans of liquid paint should not be placed in the trash, and are not accepted by most trash haulers.

Enamels, varnishes, shellacs, lacquers, stains, and sealers are all oil-based paints. Latex paints are water-based paints.

One way to identify paint as latex or oil-based is by reading the cleanup instructions on the can. If water can be used for cleanup, the paint is latex paint. If solvents, such as paint thinner or mineral spirits must be used, the paint is oil-based.

Paint should not be poured down the drain, dumped on the ground, or thrown in the trash. When poured down the drain, many of the chemicals in paint will not be treated by wastewater treatment or septic systems. The untreated chemicals may be discharged to lakes, streams, or ground water, and contaminate these waters.

Check with local schools, churches, or performing art centers. They make take donations of neutral color latex paints for drama productions or graffiti removal.

Highly flammable paints, such as epoxy base, stains, lacquers, varnishes, or shellacs, or paints containing heavy metals, such as cadmium or lead, must be taken to the Larimer County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility. Call the Larimer County Natural Resources Department at 498-5760 for more information.