By Ben, EZ Haulaway · Published November 11, 2026

Tire and Paint Disposal in Denver: Where to Take Both

Used tires and paint cans awaiting separate disposal

Old tires and leftover paint cannot go in your Denver trash cart. Tires go to a collection event or a scrap tire processor. Paint goes to a free PaintCare drop-off site, or, if it is latex, it can be dried solid and trashed. This guide covers where each one goes, what the limits are, and what to do with everything else in the garage.

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TL;DR

Waste tires and liquid paint are both prohibited from Colorado landfills, so neither belongs in your black cart.
Denver has hosted free tire drop-off events with a per-vehicle limit and no rims allowed. Check the city’s pages for the next one.
Paint drops off free at participating PaintCare sites. Latex paint can go in the trash once it is fully solid.
Denver’s Large Item Pickup does not take tires or paint, so plan another route for them.
For the bulky leftovers (mattresses, appliances, furniture), a hauling crew can clear them in one visit.

Why tires and paint can’t go in the trash
Where to take old tires in Denver
Getting tires ready for drop-off
Paint disposal in Denver
Quick guide: which route fits which item
A realistic plan for a garage cleanout
Clearing the bulky items with EZ Haulaway
Mistakes that cause trouble
FAQ
Sources

Why tires and paint can’t go in the trash

Colorado keeps a list of materials that cannot be buried in landfills. Denver’s Environmental Community Protection page says that list includes waste tires and liquid wastes such as liquid paint, along with lead-acid batteries and electronic waste.

The city’s bulk pickup follows the same logic. Denver’s Large Item Pickup excludes hazardous materials, and it names paint, batteries and tires among them. It also excludes appliances, electronic waste, construction materials and automotive materials. Large Item Pickup takes a maximum of 5 large items and up to 10 bags per service address. Items must be out by 6 a.m. on your collection day. Putting things out at any other time counts as illegal dumping.

So the usual shortcuts fail. You can’t leave a stack of tires beside the cart, and you can’t set a paint can out with your large items. Each one needs its own route, and both routes are simple once you know them.

Why tires and paint can't go in the trash

Where to take old tires in Denver

There are three realistic routes for a household with a few tires.

Free city collection events

Denver’s transportation department has run free tire recycling drop-offs for residents. One was held on a Saturday in August 2026 at the Central Platte Campus, 1271 W Bayaud Ave. Local reporting on that event shows the typical rules:

Up to nine tires per vehicle.
Rims and other contamination removed.
Passenger tires, small truck tires up to 20 inches, and medium truck tires of 21 to 22 inches, all without rims.
No heavy equipment or tractor tires.
No drop-offs from tire shops or commercial operations.

The collected tires were slated to be shredded for uses such as rubberized asphalt, mulch, playground surfaces, athletic turf and tire-derived fuel. Dates and terms change from one event to the next. Treat the August event as a model of how these work, and check Denver’s official recycling pages for the current schedule before you load the truck.

Events like this may become more common. Colorado’s Waste Tire Management Enterprise was created by SB 24-123, signed on June 6, 2024. Its funds support waste tire collection events, grants for end-use markets, cleanups and research. The state health department says it accepts applications for collection events hosted on or after August 2026, with at least 90 days needed for review and approval. That is a good reason to look up the current schedule rather than rely on last year’s dates.

Scrap tire facilities

The Denver area has registered waste tire processors. They take tires year-round, usually in larger quantities and often for a fee. Rules and rates differ by facility, so call before you drive. Ask four things:

Do you take loads from households, or only from businesses?
What is the fee per tire, and does it differ by size?
Do the tires need to be off the rims?
What are your hours for drop-off?

At the tire shop

When you buy new tires, the installer will usually take the old ones, often for a small per-tire disposal charge. This is the least effort for tires coming off your own car. It does not help with the tires that have sat behind the shed for ten years. Shops also generally do not want other people’s mixed piles, so plan on a fee and a quick call first.

What that new-tire fee is

The disposal charge on your invoice is not a mystery line. The state health department says that beginning January 1, 2026, the enterprise collects $1.50 on the sale of new tires in Colorado. The legislature’s bill page says the amount is set by the enterprise and capped at $2.50 per tire, adjusted for inflation. That money pays for the collection events and recycling programs described above.

Getting tires ready for drop-off

A few minutes of prep keeps you from being turned away.

Count first. If an event caps tires per vehicle, a pile of twelve means two trips or a different route.
Separate rims. Event rules have required rims off. A tire shop can dismount them cheaply, and scrap metal yards often take the wheels.
Clean out the debris. Remove rocks, water and trash from inside. Standing water also breeds mosquitoes while tires wait in your yard.
Sort by size. Passenger, light truck and larger truck tires are often handled differently.
Leave out tractor and equipment tires. Events turn these away. A processor is the only route for them.
Stack them safely. Load tires flat in the truck bed or secure them so they don’t shift on the highway.

Paint disposal in Denver

Paint has two different answers depending on what is in the can.

Latex paint: dry it out

Denver’s environmental team says unwanted latex paint can be left out for a couple of warm, sunny days to solidify. Once it is fully solid, it is safe to put in the trash. Be careful not to cause a spill while it dries. Liquid paint is not allowed in Denver trash bins. Keep the cans where kids and pets can’t reach them, and don’t dry them in a place where the wind or rain could tip them.

$Open latex paint cans drying on a sheltered patio$

Any paint: free PaintCare drop-off

If you would rather not wait on the weather, or you have oil-based paint, take it to a drop-off site. Denver says Colorado residents and businesses can take leftover paint to participating retailers for recycling at no charge. The same page lists what qualifies:

Interior and exterior architectural paints: latex, acrylic, water-based, alkyd, oil-based and enamel
Deck and floor coatings
Primers, sealers and undercoaters
Stains, shellacs, lacquers and varnishes
Single-component urethanes
Waterproofing sealers, metal coatings and rust preventatives
Field and lawn paints

Sites do not accept leaking, unlabeled or empty containers. PaintCare products are architectural coatings in containers of 5 gallons or smaller. Aerosols, industrial maintenance coatings, OEM coatings and specialty coatings are not part of the program.

PaintCare’s Colorado page reports 225 year-round drop-off sites and a program that began in July 2015. There is no charge when you drop paint off. The fee is built into the price of new paint by container size:

Container size	PaintCare fee on new paint
Half pint or smaller	$0.00
Larger than half pint, under 1 gallon	$0.50
1 to 2 gallons	$1.15
Larger than 2 gallons, up to 5 gallons	$2.25

Before you go, tape the lid shut, keep the original label on the can, and carry the cans upright in a box so they can’t tip in the car.

Paint mixed with other chemicals

If your garage also holds solvents, pesticides and similar products, Denver offers a Household Hazardous Waste At-Your-Door program. The terms are:

One appointment per calendar year, subject to availability
A $15 co-payment per appointment
One collection kit bag, holding about 10 to 12 cans or bottles
A minimum of three different material types, or one material over 25 lbs. from the acceptable list

The city says to take paint out of the bag if space runs short, since most paint can be recycled free through PaintCare. The state health department also lists the Veolia household hazardous waste center at 9131 E. 96th Avenue in Henderson as the facility for Denver County. It takes materials by appointment at 303-526-8155. The state notes that these programs are limited to residents of the sponsoring county or city, that proof of residency is usually required, and that a fee may apply.

Quick guide: which route fits which item

Item	Trash cart	Large Item Pickup	Where it goes
Used passenger tires	No	No	City tire event, scrap tire processor, or the shop installing new ones
Tires on rims	No	No	Remove rims first, then use a tire route
Dried latex paint	Yes, once fully solid	No	Household trash
Liquid latex or oil-based paint	No	No	PaintCare drop-off site
Leaking or unlabeled paint cans	No	No	Not accepted at PaintCare sites; consider the household hazardous waste appointment
Mattresses, couches, furniture	No	Yes, within the item limits	Large Item Pickup or a hauling service
Appliances	No	No	Hauling service or appliance recycling

A realistic plan for a garage cleanout

Most people searching for tire disposal are not clearing one tire. They are clearing a garage, a shed or a side yard, and the tires and paint are part of a bigger pile. A plan that works:

Sort into four groups: tires, paint and chemicals, bulky items, and ordinary trash.
Start the paint. Open the latex cans in a safe spot to dry, and box up the rest for a PaintCare site.
Handle the tires. Count them, remove rims, and pick an event, processor or shop.
Match the bulky items to Large Item Pickup or a hauler. Remember the cap of 5 large items and 10 bags per address, and that appliances and electronics are excluded.
Do one run for drop-offs. Tires and sealed paint can often go in the same trip if the locations line up.

If you are doing the paint and tire runs yourself, the point of step 4 is to avoid a second weekend of trips to the dump.

Our take: sort first, then haul what is left

Every week we see the same garage. Tires stacked along one wall, a shelf of half-used paint, and then the stuff that actually fills a trailer: an old couch, a broken treadmill, a fridge nobody could move.

Our advice is to treat the regulated items as their own small project. Use the free paint and tire programs where they fit, because that is what they are built for. Don’t let that project hold up the rest of the cleanout.

The bulky items are where a crew saves you the most. We are a family-owned crew in Parker, not a franchise or a call center. You send a photo, we quote it, and the price covers labor, loading, haul-away and cleanup. We care about donation and recycling, so usable furniture gets a chance at a second life before anything goes to a landfill.

We would rather you know the whole path than guess. Read the rules above, sort the garage, and send us a photo of what is left.

Ben

Clearing the bulky items with EZ Haulaway

Once the tires and paint have a plan, the rest of the pile is usually the heavy part. We pick up bulky items, appliances, furniture, yard debris and full cleanouts across the Denver metro area. Pricing is by trailer load or by item, with labor, loading, haul-away and cleanup included.

Here are some published prices from our pricing page:

Item or load	Price
Minimum / small load	$120
1/4 trailer	$240
1/2 trailer	$420
Full trailer	$840
Mattress	$150
Couch	$150 for a 2–3 seat couch, $250 for a sleeper, and $350 for a large sectional
Washer or dryer	$100 each
Refrigerator	$150
Freon appliance handling	$100

A fridge or freezer that contains Freon carries the $100 handling fee on top of the removal price. If you are weighing a mattress against Large Item Pickup, see our page on mattress and bulky item removal in Denver. For a bigger job, we also do house and estate cleanouts. To see what we take, check the what we take page.

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The fastest way to a price is to send a photo through our instant online quote. If your pile includes tires, paint or other regulated items, mention them when you ask so we can tell you how to handle each part. Our eco-friendly junk removal guide explains how donation and recycling fit into the work, and our Denver junk removal page covers the service area.

Mistakes that cause trouble

Setting tires out on bulk day. They are excluded from Large Item Pickup, and items set out outside the scheduled window are treated as illegal dumping.
Trashing wet paint. Liquid paint is not allowed in Denver bins. Dry latex fully first.
Bringing unlabeled or leaking cans to a paint site. They are turned away. Re-label what you can and bag leaking cans for a hazardous waste option.
Arriving at a tire event with rims on. Rules have required removing them.
Assuming a business can use the resident event. Commercial operations and tire shops have been excluded. Businesses with a lot of junk should look at commercial junk removal in Denver.

FAQ

Can I put old tires in my Denver trash or recycling cart?

No. Denver lists waste tires among the items prohibited from Colorado landfills. Take them to a city collection event, a scrap tire processor, or the shop that installs your new tires.

How many tires can I bring to a Denver drop-off event?

At the August 2026 event, the limit was nine tires per vehicle, with rims removed. Limits and dates can change with each event, so check the city’s current notice before you go.

Is it free to recycle paint in Denver?

Yes. Drop-off at participating PaintCare sites is free for Colorado residents and businesses. The program is funded by a small fee added to new paint at purchase. Containers must be 5 gallons or smaller, labeled and not leaking.

Can I throw latex paint in the trash?

Only after it is fully solid. Denver suggests leaving it out for a couple of warm, sunny days, then trashing it with care not to spill. Liquid paint cannot go in the bin, and oil-based paint should go to a drop-off site.

Will Large Item Pickup take my tires or paint?

No. The city’s Large Item Pickup excludes hazardous materials including paint, batteries and tires, and it also excludes appliances and electronics. It does accept bulky household items within a limit of 5 large items and 10 bags.