City of Knoxville officials are reminding all residents that beginning March 1, 2018, the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) drop-off site located within the Solid Waste Management Facility, 1033 Elm St., will no longer be accepting latex paint.  

“For years, City of Knoxville Solid Waste has been the only certified entity in Tennessee collecting latex-based paint,” said Chad Weth, Public Service Director. “Our staff can now dedicate more time to expanding collection of hazardous materials, and homeowners can now dispose of the paint without having to leave the driveway.”

Since latex paint is not a hazardous waste, it can be treated as normal household trash after a few additional steps to solidify. Once the latex paint is completely dry, it can be bagged and placed in the curbside trash cart for collection. For residents without curbside pickup, the dried paint can still be taken to the Transfer Station at the City’s Solid Waste Management Facility, or to one of the Knox County Convenience Centers. Staff will ask that the lids be off in order to verify that the paint is dry. Since latex paint is household trash, it will be subject to the same tipping fees or residency requirements at the City and County facilities.  (Click here to learn more on how to dispose latex paint properly.)

“This new policy will both improve convenience for residents and save tax dollars by cutting out staff time spent handling the paints,” said Patience Melnik, Solid Waste Manager. “We ask residents to please help us keep our city clean and beautiful by ensuring that the paint is completely dry prior to disposal.”

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) recommends several techniques for drying latex-based paints:

• For cans with only several inches of paint, simply remove the lid and place the paint can in a secure, well-ventilated area for several days until the paint dries. When it’s possible to turn the can upside down without dripping, the paint is ready for disposal.

• For fuller cans, the paint can be dispersed into a larger container so that the paint is at three inches or less and left out to dry; or

• Alternatively, kitty litter, mulch, wood chips or saw dust may be stirred directly into a paint can and left out to dry. Again, the can should be able to be turned upside down without dripping to be ready for disposal. Bagged cans may then be placed in garbage carts for collection.

Under no circumstances should paint be poured down a drain, as water treatment systems are not designed to handle latex paint, and the contamination compromises the quality of our drinking water, creeks and wildlife ecosystems.

In addition, the City of Knoxville has received a $535,000 grant from TDEC to expand services at the Household Hazardous Waste drop-off site at the City’s Solid Waste Management Facility. 

The grant has funded renovations that allow HHW technicians to accept and process larger volumes of household hazardous waste, such as automotive oil and fuel, antifreeze, batteries, flea collars, propane cylinders, household cleaners, among others. Soon, the grant will also support a mobile HHW collections unit that will travel to sites throughout Knoxville and Knox County.

With additional staffing and equipment made possible by the TDEC grant, City staff will deploy to outer reaches of the City and County. They will also play an active role in neighborhood cleanups and community events. Having a mobile operation will remove the geographic barrier of one downtown location, and render significantly higher volumes of safely disposed of household hazardous wastes.  This new service should begin in late summer 2018.

For more information, call 311 or visit www.knoxvilletn.gov/hhw.