Charlotte, NC Trash & Recycling: Bulk Item Disposal (2026)

Section 10-33 of the Charlotte City Code, as amended by Ordinance No. 1111 on April 13, 2026, sets one process for everything too large for a container. You cannot simply leave a couch at the curb and wait. Subsection (a) says collection must be scheduled with the city before it can occur, and anyone requesting pickup must obtain a date of collection from the city. Solid Waste Services (SWS) runs the program and its department head decides how the rules apply in the field.

Timing is tight. Under subsection (b), the items may not be placed at the curbside earlier than the day before the day of collection, and they must be out by 6:00 a.m. on the collection day itself. Section 10-115 backs that up with a $150.00 civil penalty for anyone who sets items out more than one day early, and a second $150.00 penalty for failing to remove anything left at the curb by 11:59 p.m. on the day of collection.

Placement is spelled out in subsection (c). Items sit at ground level, within six feet of the curbside, and at least three feet away from each other and from obstacles such as mailboxes, telephone poles, automobiles and trees, unless the SWS department head names a different location. Residents are told to use reasonable care and keep sidewalks open. Section 10-140(c) makes it unlawful to let bulky waste or junk obstruct safe passage of pedestrians or motor vehicles, with a $150.00 civil penalty.

The definitions in section 10-1 decide what counts. Bulky waste is anything that cannot be placed securely within a container, such as household furnishings, appliances, mattresses, box springs, tires and lawn equipment. Junk is any item that creates a littered condition outside an enclosed structure and is rusted, wrecked, broken or inoperative. Section 10-26 gives the SWS department head discretion to decide whether a particular item is bulky waste or junk.

Subsection (d) lists what the city refuses outright: commercially related activities involving building material, appliances and equipment, customers on small business garbage service under section 10-30(b) and (c), oxygen tanks and other medical equipment, propane tanks, parts of campers, boats, camper shells and trailers, automotive parts such as motors, doors, fenders, car seats and batteries, and household oil tanks. Section 10-34 adds preparation rules, including emptied appliances, dismantled large furniture, taped glass and drained push mowers.