Trash & Recycling in Buncombe County, NC (2026)
6 rules for unincorporated Buncombe County, North Carolina.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
In unincorporated Buncombe County, FCC Environmental collects garbage weekly and recycling every other week. Find your day with the county's FCC collection map at buncombenc.gov. Collection is delayed one day when it falls on or after a holiday. Cities like Asheville run their own service.
Buncombe County Trash Pickup Schedule & Rules
Some RestrictionsBuncombe County Code Ch. 62 (Solid Waste Management)
The purpose and intent of this Division is to protect public health and private property by granting one or more exclusive franchises for the collection and disposal of residential and household solid wastes to responsible persons equipped to render adequate and continuing service throughout the county.
Bin Placement Rules
Every residential garbage container in unincorporated Buncombe County must be watertight, rodent-proof, fitted with a tight-fitting lid kept closed except when in use, and sized to hold at least a week's trash; loads must be covered or secured whenever they are hauled to keep material from blowing loose.
Garbage Cart Storage Rules in Buncombe County
Some RestrictionsBuncombe County Code Sec. 62-30(a)(1), (c)(1)
Every such container shall be constructed of a durable material in such manner as to be strong, watertight, not easily corrodible, fly proof and rodent proof; shall have a capacity of not more than 96 gallons, if hand collected, or as specified by the franchise collector, if collected by dumpster container equipment; shall have handles designed for lifting; and shall have tight-fitting covers w...
Recycling Requirements
Buncombe County offers curbside recycling to FCC subscribers and free drop-off at the landfill and transfer station. Accepted: metal cans, plastics #1–7, glass bottles/jars, cartons, mixed paper, and flattened cardboard. Not accepted: plastic bags, Styrofoam, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, dishware, paper towels, or shredded paper.
Recycling Rules and Accepted Materials
Some RestrictionsBuncombe County Recycling — accepted plastics
Plastic - bottles, jugs, and containers with recycling numbers 1 through 7.
Illegal Dumping
Buncombe County treats dumping refuse outside an approved landfill, transfer station, or your own approved receptacle as a criminal offense under Sec. 62-30(d)(3). The director of solid waste can trace dumped trash back to a name, address or logo left in the pile, demand it be hauled to the landfill within ten days, and escalate to the Sec. 62-30(d)(6) misdemeanor penalty if you ignore the notice.
Illegal Dumping Penalties in Buncombe County
Heavy RestrictionsBuncombe County Code § 62-30(d)(3), (d)(6)
(3) Prohibited disposal. Any other disposal of solid waste is expressly prohibited. If any object of refuse is discovered upon any lands or waters in any of the unincorporated areas of the county, other than an approved sanitary landfill or other proper receptacle, and such refuse bears the name, address or other means of identification of a person, the person so identified shall be presumed to...
Yard Waste Collection
Buncombe County's landfill will not take yard waste. Sec. 62-32 lists yard waste alongside white goods, used oil, lead-acid batteries, antifreeze, and aluminum cans as materials that must be separated out before a load reaches the landfill, and Sec. 62-33 backs the ban with a $50.00 civil penalty that accrues for every day the violation continues.
Yard Waste Banned From Buncombe County Landfill
Some RestrictionsBuncombe County Code § 62-32; § 62-33(a)
Sec. 62-32. - Prohibited dumping. No yard waste, white goods, used oils, lead acid batteries, antifreeze or aluminum cans shall be disposed of at the county landfill. Those items, and any other items banned from North Carolina landfills in the future, shall be separated from the solid waste and disposed of in a manner consistent with all federal, state, and local regulations. ... Sec. 62-33. - ...
Dumpster Rules
Shopping centers, restaurants, service stations, schools, churches and other commercial or institutional sites in unincorporated Buncombe County must provide dumpsters or detachable/roll-off containers sized to handle their waste, and must clean up any spillage or overflow immediately.
Commercial Dumpster Requirements in Buncombe County
Some RestrictionsBuncombe County Code Sec. 62-28(c)(2)
The owner, proprietor, or person in charge of any commercial, small business, industrial, or institutional building, parking lot, or other site shall be obligated, jointly and severally, to provide solid waste receptacles of sufficient size and quantity as specified in subsection 62-30(a). Specifically, but not exclusively, the requirement for such containers shall apply to shopping centers, su...
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