Beaufort County, SC Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

Beaufort County Code of Ordinances § 62-23 places the duty to prepare waste for pickup squarely on the resident: it is the duty of the occupant or owner of any residential property to store all solid waste and recovered materials properly prior to collection by the county or its contractor or licensed hauler. Containers themselves must stay in good condition, since all solid waste and recovered material containers must be kept clean and free of accumulated waste, and every property owner must prevent the continued, excessive, and unsightly accumulation of solid waste on their land.

The section also protects what is inside a set-out cart: no one may place acid, explosives, flammable liquid, corrosive material, or hazardous waste beyond household quantities into a container, and no person other than the owner, the owner's agents or employees, or employees of licensed haulers or county contractors may tamper with, meddle with, or remove the contents of a municipal solid waste or recovered materials container from where the owner placed it. Property owners are barred from taking in waste from outside their own designated collection area for deposit in their containers, and they remain responsible for policing any litter that spills from waste or recyclables that were not properly prepared for pickup, unless the litter resulted from the contractor's own mishandling. Beaufort County Code of Ordinances § 62-22(4) separately bars placing eviction-related solid waste within 25 feet of any curbside.