Union County, NC Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

" This sits alongside companion storage rules in the same section: garbage must go in a durable, rust-resistant, nonabsorbent, watertight container with a close-fitting, fly-tight cover and a capacity capped at 32 gallons, and every owner, occupant, tenant, or lessee must remove accumulated solid waste from the property at least once every seven days. Bulky wastes left outside a building cannot sit for more than 72 hours, and any abandoned icebox, refrigerator, or similar airtight-door receptacle left where children can reach it must have the door removed first.

These storage duties apply to any owner, occupant, tenant, or lessee of property in the unincorporated county and are administered by the county's solid waste director, who also licenses solid waste collectors under Section 32-6 and publishes approved residential disposal methods under Section 32-3(g)(3). The rodent-harborage clause works as a catch-all: even a compliant container can still violate the section if refuse is stacked, spilled, or stored loosely enough to draw rodents. This is county code, so it governs unincorporated Union County only; Monroe, Waxhaw, Indian Trail, Stallings, and Weddington enforce their own separate municipal codes on solid waste storage.