Will a junk removal crew take paint and chemicals?

No. They are household hazardous waste and need a collection program built for them. For Fort Worth and its participating cities that is the Environmental Collection Center on Bridge Street, free for households.

Do I need a voucher for the Environmental Collection Center?

It depends on your city. Residents of Fort Worth, Azle, Benbrook, Burleson, Haltom City, Richland Hills, River Oaks and Saginaw need none. Residents of Crowley, Lake Worth, Lakeside, Sansom Park, Weatherford, Westover Hills, Westworth Village and White Settlement need one from their city first.

What do I do with an old propane tank?

Not the city routes: Fort Worth’s Drop-Off Stations and the Environmental Collection Center both refuse gas cylinders. Ask a propane supplier what it will take back.

Can the old garage refrigerator go too?

Yes. It is taken as it stands, and the refrigerant is recovered at the facility it goes to.

Cleanouts guide · 7 min read

Garage Cleanout Checklist: What to Sort, Where It Goes and What Stays Behind

Most of a garage can leave in one go. The part that cannot is the shelf of paint, fuel and chemicals, and where that goes depends on which city you live in. Find that shelf first, sort the rest into keep, donate and remove, and the cleanout itself is the easy part.

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A two-car garage filled with boxes, storage bins, tools and bagged clutter along both walls

Before the day

An hour of this saves a morning of moving the same boxes twice.

Move anything you are keeping out of the garage first
Gather the paint, fuel and chemicals in one place
Check whether your city uses the Environmental Collection Center
Look up your bulk week or bulk day
Decide what is worth donating before anything is loaded
Clear a path from the back wall to the door

Zone by zone

Work from the hazards outward. Each zone has a different destination.

1
The chemical shelf
Paint, solvents, lawn and pool chemicals, automotive fluids and batteries: lids tight, boxed together, and kept away from the loading area.
2
Gas cylinders
Fort Worth’s Drop-Off Stations and the Environmental Collection Center both refuse propane and other gas cylinders. Ask a propane supplier what it will take back.
3
Car batteries
Texas law keeps lead-acid batteries out of household trash. They go back to a battery retailer or wholesaler, or to an authorized collection point such as the Environmental Collection Center.
4
Lawn equipment
Drain the fuel and oil first. Fort Worth’s stations take small lawn and garden equipment on that condition.
5
Shelving
Empty it, then take it down last. It is easier to clear around than through.
6
Everything else
Furniture, bikes, boxes and the old refrigerator are what bulk week and a junk crew exist for.

Where the chemicals go, by city

From Fort Worth’s list of participating cities and each city’s own pages, as of November 2026.

Your city	Where household chemicals go
No voucher needed	Fort Worth, Azle, Benbrook, Burleson, Haltom City, Richland Hills, River Oaks and Saginaw: Fort Worth’s Environmental Collection Center, 6400 Bridge St. Bring a driver’s license or water bill. Open Thursday and Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Voucher first	Crowley, Lake Worth, Lakeside, Sansom Park, Weatherford, Westover Hills, Westworth Village and White Settlement: the same center, with a voucher from your city.
Keller	Not in the center’s program. Community Waste Disposal collects household hazardous waste and used electronics from your doorstep, up to once a month: call CWD ahead, it mails you a collection kit, and nothing goes to the curb.
North Richland Hills	Not in the center’s program since October 1, 2023. The city holds its own collection events for residents.
Not in the program	Watauga, Haslet, Forest Hill, Everman, Aledo, Blue Mound, Edgecliff Village, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks and Springtown: ask your city how it collects household chemicals.

Quantities, refusals and the free shelf

The center sets quantity limits by type: 30 gallons of paint and painting supplies, 20 gallons of lawn, garden and pool chemicals, 10 gallons each of automotive fluids, cleaning chemicals and cooking oil, and 20 light bulbs.

It does not take tires, appliances or electronics, building materials, bulk trash or yard waste, propane or butane cylinders, medicines, ammunition, or anything containing asbestos. Each of those needs its own route.

It also runs a Help-Yourself Shelf: paint, cleaners and chemicals in like-new condition, free to take. Worth a look before buying more for the next project.

What a crew loads, and what it leaves

Everything that is not hazardous: furniture, boxes, bikes, exercise equipment, old tools, shelving and the second refrigerator. The crew works back from the door, takes the shelving down once it is empty, and sweeps the floor when the garage is clear.

The chemical shelf stays where you left it, boxed for the collection center or your city’s own collection. That is the one part of a garage cleanout nobody can do for you.