Trash & Recycling in Columbia County, GA (2026)
6 rules for unincorporated Columbia County, Georgia.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Columbia County runs no county-wide curbside garbage service. Unincorporated residents in Evans, Martinez, and the rural areas must contract a licensed private hauler or self-haul. The cities of Grovetown and Harlem run their own city collection.
Columbia County Trash Pickup: Hire a Private Hauler
Some RestrictionsColumbia County, GA, Code of Ordinances § 70-8(c)
Any person who owns, uses or occupies any land or building in the unincorporated areas of the county shall be responsible for contracting with a properly licensed commercial hauler, or otherwise providing for the collection of such waste and litter, and disposal of such waste and litter at a properly permitted and licensed solid waste disposal facility, on a regular and frequent basis.
Bin Placement Rules
Trash placed in a Columbia County receptacle can't be allowed to overflow or block the lid from closing, and it must reach a permitted landfill or transfer station within 14 days of being set out, under section 70-4(a)(2). Containers themselves must stay sanitary, closed, and free of fire hazards, oversized items, or scattered debris under section 70-7.
Columbia County Garbage Container Rules
Some RestrictionsColumbia County, GA, Code of Ordinances § 70-4(a)(2)
(2)Litter or waste is placed into a receptacle or container installed or maintained on such property for the temporary storage of litter or waste; provided, however, that any litter or waste placed into such receptacle or container must not be allowed to accumulate to the point of overflowing the container or receptacle, or to a point where the container or receptacle cannot be closed. All litt...
Bulk Item Disposal
Columbia County offers no county-wide bulk curbside pickup. Large items like appliances and furniture go through your private hauler or are self-hauled. County code bars stuffing appliances, mattresses, and tires into regular trash receptacles.
Columbia County Bulk Item & Appliance Disposal
Some RestrictionsColumbia County, GA, Code of Ordinances § 70-7(f)
No person shall deposit large noncompatible articles in waste or litter containers or receptacles, including, but not limited to, stoves, refrigerators, other appliances, bed springs, mattresses, scrap tires, air conditioning units or similar items.
Recycling Requirements
Columbia County bars mixing yard trimmings, grass clippings, leaves, pine straw, shrubbery, and limbs, into regular solid waste and keeps them out of lined landfill cells; section 70-5(b) instead requires they be sorted, stockpiled, chipped, composted, mulched, or otherwise recycled. County policy under section 70-12 separately commits to encouraging recycling countywide.
Columbia County Yard Trimmings Recycling Rule
Some RestrictionsColumbia County, GA, Code of Ordinances § 70-5(b)
(b)Yard trimmings shall not be placed in or mixed with solid waste. Yard trimmings include, but are not limited to, grass clippings, leaves, pine straw, shrubbery and limbs. Yard trimmings shall not be disposed of at any solid waste disposal facility which has liners and a leachate collection system or requires vertical expansion within the county. Yard trimmings shall be sorted and stockpiled,...
Illegal Dumping
Dumping litter, waste, or scrap tires anywhere in unincorporated Columbia County is unlawful unless it goes to a state-permitted landfill or transfer station, or into a receptacle that's emptied within 14 days. Violators face up to 60 days in jail, a $1,000 fine, mandatory cleanup, and court-ordered litter-collection community service under sections 70-4 and 70-13.
Columbia County Illegal Dumping Penalties
Heavy RestrictionsColumbia County, GA, Code of Ordinances § 70-4(a)
(a)The person which is the owner, user and/or occupant of any land and/or building in the unincorporated areas of the county shall be responsible for the sanitary and proper handling and disposition of litter, waste and scrap tires generated on or located on the land and/or in the building owned, used or occupied by such person. It shall be unlawful to dump, deposit, throw, leave or cause or pe...
Dumpster Rules
Every dumpster or waste container in unincorporated Columbia County must stay sanitary and closed, under section 70-7, with no burning materials, dead animals, appliances, mattresses, tires, or explosives inside, and no litter piled around it. Violations are misdemeanors carrying up to 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine under the chapter's general penalty.
Columbia County Dumpster Maintenance Rules
Some RestrictionsColumbia County, GA, Code of Ordinances § 70-7
(a)Each waste or litter container or receptacle in the unincorporated areas of the county shall be maintained in as sanitary a condition as is reasonably possible consistent with such container's or receptacle's use for waste and litter disposal, and shall not be allowed to create strong, offensive or noxious odors, serve as an insect or rodent feeding area or habitat, become unsightly or cause...
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