Catawba County, NC Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 32-6(h) of the county's solid waste chapter states flatly that there shall be no open burning of solid waste or garbage by any person, and the chapter defines open burning broadly as any fire whose combustion products are emitted directly into the outdoor atmosphere rather than through a stack, chimney, or incinerator. The same section reinforces the ban elsewhere: subsection (a)(6) lists the only lawful disposal methods as contracting with a county-licensed hauler, hauling to the landfill or a county convenience center, burning in an incinerator holding all required local, state, and federal air pollution control licenses, or state-approved reclamation and recycling.

Subsection (c) separately bars burning material from being deposited at the county sanitary landfill, and subsection (i)(4)(f) bars burning material from county-owned solid waste convenience centers. Waste tires and dead animals face their own disposal rules under subsections (j) and (k): tires may not be burned in a municipal incinerator and must go to a licensed tire disposal facility, while dead domesticated animals must be buried at least three feet deep within 24 hours or taken to the county landfill. The county's separate land-clearing and inert debris (LCID) landfill rules at chapter 32, division on LCID facilities, likewise state that open burning of solid waste is prohibited at those sites. Enforcement runs through the county's health director and solid waste division under the general violations provision of the chapter.