Effective December 1, 2025, McLean County has four drop-off locations for easy disposal of latex and oil-based paints. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency approved PaintCare’s Illinois Paint Stewardship Program plan in October and has now announced 300 collection sites across the state. The full listing of all sites can found at https://www.paintcare.org/drop-off-sites/. In McLean County, collection sites can be found on RecycleBN.org and include Sherwin Williams at 115 Krispy Kreme Drive in Bloomington, RP Lumber at 2440 S Main Street in Bloomington, Sherwin Williams at 1906 E College Avenue in Normal, and RP Lumber at 208 W Cherry Street in LeRoy. Other local sites are located in El Paso and Clinton. The PaintCare program is not limited to residential waste streams: it is open to anyone to utilize.
Accepted materials include:
• Interior and exterior architectural paints: latex, acrylic, water-based, alkyd, oil-based, enamel (including textured coatings)
• Deck coatings, floor paints (including elastomeric)
• Primers, sealers, undercoaters
• Stains
• Shellacs, lacquers, varnishes, urethanes (single component)
• Waterproofing concrete/masonry/wood sealers and repellents (not tar or bitumen-based)
• Metal coatings, rust preventatives
Not accepted materials include:
• Leaking or empty containers, or those without the original manufacturer’s label
• Paint thinners, mineral spirits, solvents
• Aerosol paints (spray paint)
• Auto and marine paints
• Art and craft paints
• Caulking compounds, epoxies, glues, adhesives
• Paint additives, colorants, tints, resins
• Wood preservatives (containing pesticides)
• Roof patch and repair
• Asphalt, tar and bitumen-based products
• 2-component coatings
• Deck cleaners
• Traffic and road marking paints
• Industrial Maintenance (IM) coatings
• Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) (shop application) paints and finishes
PaintCare programs are funded by a fee which is applied to the purchase price of each container of new paint sold in the state. There is no charge for dropping off paint at a PaintCare drop-off site. The PaintCare fee is not a tax or a deposit. The fee funds all aspects of the paint stewardship program.
The Ecology Action Center is the solid waste agency for Bloomington, Normal, and McLean County and provides long term solid waste planning, recycling promotion, household hazardous waste coordination, education, and outreach. Information on residential recycling and community recycling programs, recycling of nontraditional materials, and information on disposal of household hazardous wastes is available by calling 309-454-3169 or visiting ecologyactioncenter.org. Comprehensive recycling listings are available at RecycleBN.org.
