Paint, chemicals, motor oil, propane tanks and batteries cannot go in your tote, and we cannot take them on a bulk pickup or in a dumpster. Massachusetts towns and regional cooperatives run collection days for this material. Here is what is coming up.
Every date came off a town or cooperative page and links back to it. Dates and rules change, so call before you load the car.
South Shore Recycling Cooperative
When
Saturday, October 24, 2026, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where
159 Camelot Drive, Plymouth
Who can go
Residents of the 18 cooperative member towns. Proof of residency required.
Registration
Required. Register online first. One registration per household per season.
Cost
Free up to 50 gallons of liquid or 100 pounds of solid waste per household. Fees above that.
Good to know
Marine flares and tires free for Plymouth County residents. Propane tanks and fire extinguishers accepted for a fee. No latex or acrylic paint. Motor oil, antifreeze, and car batteries can go to the Manomet Transfer Station year-round.
Towns we serve
Any cooperative member town we serve: Cohasset, Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Hanover, Hanson, Hingham, Hull, Kingston, Marshfield, Norwell, Rockland, Scituate, Whitman
Southeast Massachusetts Household Hazardous Waste Consortium
When
Friday, November 13, 2026, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Where
Franklin. Exact address given with the authorization form. Questions: 508-979-1493.
Who can go
Dartmouth and New Bedford residents, through the Greater New Bedford district.
Registration
Pick up a paper Visitor Authorization Form in person by about November 6, at Dartmouth DPW, 759 Russells Mill Road, or the Crapo Hill scale house.
Cost
Free with the authorization form.
Good to know
Paint products only: oil-based paint, varnish, lacquer, thinner and paint stripper. Nothing else. Confirmed by the district on October 15.
Towns we serve
Dartmouth
South Shore Recycling Cooperative
When
Saturday, November 14, 2026, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where
DCR Skate Rink, George Washington Boulevard, Hull
Who can go
Residents of the 18 cooperative member towns. Proof of residency required.
Registration
Required. Register online first. One registration per household per season.
Cost
Free up to 50 gallons of liquid or 100 pounds of solid waste per household. Fees above that.
Good to know
No latex or acrylic paint.
Towns we serve
Hull, plus any cooperative member town we serve: Cohasset, Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Hanover, Hanson, Hingham, Kingston, Marshfield, Norwell, Rockland, Scituate, Whitman
Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District
When
Saturday, June 12, 2027, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Where
Crapo Hill Landfill, 300 Samuel Barnet Boulevard, New Bedford
Who can go
New Bedford, Dartmouth and Freetown residents only. Proof of residency required.
Registration
Required. Sign up online for a time slot.
Cost
Not published. Call the district office at 508-979-1493.
Good to know
Households only, no businesses. Limit of 25 gallons or 50 pounds. No latex paint, propane tanks, fire extinguishers, motor oil or batteries. Rain or shine. Enter through the New Bedford Business Park. Questions: 508-979-1493.
Towns we serve
Dartmouth
If it burns, poisons, corrodes or explodes, it does not belong in your tote.
Lead-acid batteries are banned from disposal by state law. The rest are our policy, because batteries start fires in the truck. Our drivers leave all of these behind.
Latex paint is the one people get wrong. It is not hazardous waste, so a trip to a collection day is wasted.
People get turned away at the gate for one of four reasons.
Every South Shore Recycling Cooperative collection needs online registration, and each household can register once per season. Town days like Raynham are first come, first served with no sign up.
A license showing your address, a car registration, a tax or utility bill, or your transfer station sticker. Some towns also want an authorization form from their own DPW before you attend a collection in another town.
Original labeled containers, caps tight, upright in a box or crate. No garbage bags. Do not mix chemicals. Nothing leaking or rusted through. Stay in the car and let them unload from your trunk.
The cooperative covers 50 gallons of liquid or 100 pounds of solid waste per household per season and charges above that. One registration per household per season.
You do not always have to wait for a collection day.
1 Hill Avenue. The only permanent hazardous waste facility near us that MassDEP lists as open to any Massachusetts resident, so it is the answer for towns with no collection day. There is a charge per pound and it runs a seasonal Saturday morning schedule, spring through fall. Call 781-380-7177 to confirm the day and the price.
149B Winter Street, weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., $2 a container. They take latex, acrylic and water-based paint and stain, which is exactly what the collection days refuse. No oil-based, marine or automotive paint. Original labeled container, still liquid.
83 Gilmore Drive. Open to any Massachusetts resident, charged at cost. About an hour from most of our towns, so treat it as a last resort. Check the days and hours first.
Police station drop boxes take unwanted prescription and over the counter medication all year, free. The state publishes a map of every kiosk in Massachusetts. Never flush them and never put them in the tote.
Rechargeable, lithium ion and car batteries, fluorescent tubes and CFL bulbs are taken free at many hardware and home improvement stores and at several town recycling centers. Alkaline batteries go to the same places. Tape the terminals on lithium batteries first.
Some towns take part of this list all year with a sticker. Berkley takes paint, propane, used oil, antifreeze, batteries and fluorescent bulbs at 3R North Main Street for a fee per item. Plympton takes latex paint, mercury items and sharps. Worth a call before you wait months for a collection day.
