Trash & Recycling in Gastonia, NC (2026)
7 verified trash & recycling rules for Gastonia, North Carolina, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Bin Placement Rules
Gastonia residents must keep city-issued rollout carts off the curb until the day before pickup and haul them back in by midnight of collection day. Carts also cannot sit in front of the house or ahead of the building line closest to the street.
Gastonia Rollout Cart Placement and Set-Out Times
Some RestrictionsGastonia Code of Ordinances §§ 11-57(2), 11-60(7)
Rollout containers shall not be placed at curbside for collection prior to the day preceding the collection date and shall be removed by midnight on the day of collection. ... No rollout containers shall be stored in front of a home or in front of the building line closest to the street.
Bulk Item Disposal
Gastonia collects bulky items, scrap materials, computer equipment and televisions by request, but only for single-family and special residential units. Furniture must be dismantled so two people can lift it, and glass items need an X of tape.
Gastonia Bulky Item and Large Furniture Pickup Rules
Some RestrictionsGastonia Code of Ordinances § 11-116(c)(3), (5)
Large furniture items shall be dismantled prior to collection such that a reasonable person can expect two individuals to easily load them onto the special collection vehicle. The only exception to this policy is for pianos which do not have to be dismantled for such collections. ... All glass in screens, windows, doors, mirrors and other items with large expanses of glass must have the glass t...
Recycling Requirements
Gastonia collects curbside recyclables every other week on the same day as trash pickup. Recycling carts follow the same set-out window as trash: out no earlier than the day before, and off the curb by midnight of collection day.
Gastonia Biweekly Curbside Recycling Rules
Some RestrictionsGastonia, NC Code of Ordinances § 11-59(1)-(2)
The following regulations shall govern the city's recyclables collection program: (1) Recyclables collection service will be provided biweekly on the same day as designated by the administrator for curbside collection service. The recyclables container shall be placed at curbside. (2) Recyclables containers shall not be placed at curbside for collection prior to the day preceding the collection...
Illegal Dumping
Dumping solid or hazardous waste on Gastonia streets, city property, someone else's land without permission, or into any stream is a misdemeanor. If litter is thrown from a moving vehicle, the driver is held responsible regardless of who actually threw it.
Gastonia Illegal Dumping Ban and Penalty
Significant RestrictionsGastonia, NC Code of Ordinances § 11-17(a)-(b)
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, discard, throw, drop or deposit, or cause to be placed, discarded, thrown, dropped or deposited any solid wastes (including hazardous waste) on: (1) Any public street, sidewalk or alley within the city or on any property owned or operated by the city or any other public property except in properly designated receptacles; (2) Any property not owned b...
Yard Waste Collection
Gastonia collects yard waste weekly from single-family homes, but limbs cannot exceed 4 inches in diameter or 5 feet in length, piles must weigh under 50 pounds, and loose leaves get vacuum service only from October 15 through February 15.
Gastonia Yard Waste and Leaf Collection Rules
Some RestrictionsGastonia Code of Ordinances § 11-86(d)
Limbs collected by city collection forces shall be no larger than four inches in diameter and no longer than five feet in length. Tree shrubbery and limbs shall have all protruding branches trimmed. Limbs must be stacked in small, neat piles such that a reasonable person would expect one individual to easily pick up each pile, one at a time, for disposal. Each pile shall weigh no more than 50 p...
Dumpster Rules
Apartments, condos and other multi-unit properties in Gastonia must provide bulk dumpsters for refuse, and those containers cannot sit in front of a nonresidential unit, ahead of the street setback line, or in the public right-of-way.
Gastonia Bulk Container (Dumpster) Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsGastonia Code of Ordinances § 11-61(3), (6)
No bulk containers shall be placed in front of a nonresidential unit, in front of the building setback line closest to the street or in a public right-of-way. Container lids shall be kept closed at all times. ... All containers shall have an all-weather access drive from the public street to the bulk container. Such access drive may be paved, but must, at a minimum, be well graded and graveled.
Collection Schedule
Gastonia provides residential curbside trash collection once a week on an administrator-set day. Rollout carts can go out no earlier than the day before pickup and must come off the curb by midnight of collection day.
Gastonia Weekly Curbside Trash Pickup Rules
Some RestrictionsGastonia, NC Code of Ordinances § 11-57(1)-(2)
City-served residential curbside solid waste collection services will be provided once a week on a day designated for collection by the administrator. Rollout containers shall not be placed at curbside prior to the day preceding the scheduled collection date. Any container placed at curbside shall be removed by midnight on the day of collection.
Looking for Gaston County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Gastonia city rules.
Trash & Recycling in Gaston County →