Trash & Recycling in Florence County, SC (2026)
8 rules for unincorporated Florence County, South Carolina.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Florence County doesn't run its own curbside trash trucks in the unincorporated area: private haulers do the pickup, and Florence County Code Section 13-23 requires every trash and garbage pick-up service operating outside the municipalities to hold a county license, backed by a $10.00 annual fee and a performance bond.
Florence County Trash Pickup Service License
Some RestrictionsFlorence County Code Sections 13-23, 13-24, 13-25
All trash and garbage pick-up services operating in this county outside of municipalities are hereby required to have a license before operating such service. ... The cost of a license required by the provisions of this division shall be $10.00 per year. ... Before a license can be issued under the provisions of this division, the licensee shall file with the clerk of court a certified copy of ...
Bin Placement Rules
Unincorporated Florence County has no curbside cart pickup: residents use shared 'green box' collection sites instead. Florence County Code Section 13-1 requires every bag of household garbage to go inside the metal container, bans piling material outside it, and makes climbing into or scavenging through a green box a violation enforced by the Department of Environmental Services.
Florence County Green Box Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsFlorence County Code Section 13-1(1)-(2)
(1)No material shall be placed outside of the container. All garbage and refuse shall be placed inside the container.(2)Scavenging of materials located in public solid waste collection containers is prohibited. This includes going through or removing materials located in the containers by any means. No person other than legally authorized officials shall climb on, into, on top of, or inside of,...
Bulk Item Disposal
Bulky items don't go in Florence County's green boxes. Florence County Code Section 13-1(5)-(6) excludes stumps, limbs, appliances, construction debris, furniture, auto parts, bedsprings and yard trash from the six-yard household containers and requires residents to haul them instead to the county landfill's collection station or a designated 40-yard roll-off box.
Florence County Bulky Item Disposal Rules
Some RestrictionsFlorence County Code Section 13-1(5)-(6)
(5)The "six-yard" boxes, or smaller containers, shall be used by individual private citizens for the disposal of household domestic garbage and refuse; which shall not include stumps, limbs, white goods, bricks, rocks, cement, bedsprings, appliances, construction debris, furniture, auto parts, yard trash and dead animals.(6)The above-mentioned items are to be transported to the county landfill'...
Illegal Dumping
Illegal dumping in unincorporated Florence County is a misdemeanor under Florence County Code Section 13-2, punishable under Section 13-7 by a $200.00 fine and up to 30 days in jail for a first or second offense, rising to $500.00 for a third, plus mandatory litter-gathering labor on top of any fine or jail time.
Florence County Illegal Dumping Penalties
Heavy RestrictionsFlorence County Code Sections 13-2(a), 13-7
(a)A person, from a vehicle or otherwise, may not dump, throw, drop, deposit, discard or otherwise dispose of litter or other solid waste as defined by state law, upon public or private property or waters in Florence County ... unless on property designated by the county for the disposal of litter and other solid waste and the person is authorized to use the property for that purpose. ... A per...
Yard Waste Collection
Yard waste in unincorporated Florence County can't go into a storm drain or the household green box. Florence County Code Section 9.5-77(c) bars dumping leaves, limbs or grass clippings into any storm drain, stream or ditch, while Section 13-1(5) excludes yard trash from the six-yard household containers, routing it to the landfill instead.
Florence County Yard Waste Disposal Rules
Some RestrictionsFlorence County Code Sections 9.5-77(c), 13-1(5)
(c)It shall be unlawful to place yard waste into any storm drain, stream, or conveyance where concentrated stormwater flows will wash such wastes into the storm sewer system or county watercourse. ... which shall not include stumps, limbs, white goods, bricks, rocks, cement, bedsprings, appliances, construction debris, furniture, auto parts, yard trash and dead animals.
Dumpster Rules
Commercial trash containers of four cubic yards or more must be screened from public view in unincorporated Florence County. Florence County Code Section 30-122 requires an opaque divider at least six feet tall, or as tall as the dumpster itself, around any dumpster or open refuse disposal area visible from a public street.
Florence County Commercial Dumpster Screening
Some RestrictionsFlorence County Code Section 30-122
(b)Purpose. The purpose of screening is to minimize if not eliminate entirely the visual impact of potentially unsightly open storage areas and refuse disposal facilities.(c)Where required. Screening specified by this section shall be required of all open storage areas not devoted to retail sales visible from any public street, including open storage areas for shipping containers, building mate...
Collection Schedule
Any company that runs a residential trash or garbage pick-up route in unincorporated Florence County must hold a county license before it can operate. Sec. 13-23 requires the license, Sec. 13-24 sets the $10.00 annual fee, and Sec. 13-27 makes it renewable each November 1.
Trash Hauler Licensing in Florence County
Some RestrictionsFlorence County Code §§ 13-23, 13-24, 13-27
All trash and garbage pick-up services operating in this county outside of municipalities are hereby required to have a license before operating such service. ... The cost of a license required by the provisions of this division shall be $10.00 per year. ... Any license issued under the provisions of this division shall be renewable annually on or before the first day of November of each year.
Recycling Rules
In unincorporated Florence County, only the franchised waste and recycling hauler may remove recyclable materials once they are set out at the curb. County Code Sec. 13-8 bans scavenging of any public or private collection container and lets law enforcement or Environmental Services cite anyone, other than the hauler, who picks through curbside recycling or trash.
Recycling Scavenging Ban in Florence County
Some RestrictionsFlorence County Code § 13-8
(a)Scavenging is prohibited in the County of Florence, South Carolina. Unless otherwise authorized by the Florence County government in writing, recyclable materials may not be removed by anyone other than the franchised waste and recycling hauler.(1)No person, other than the franchised waste and recycling hauler, shall remove recyclable materials which have been segregated from other waste mat...
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