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

Chapter 38's collection and disposal article defines bulky waste in § 38-102 as large items such as household appliances, furniture, automobiles, large auto parts, trees, branches, stumps and other oversize waste that ordinary weekly collection cannot handle. Section 38-104(e) sets the clock: no owner, occupant, tenant or lessee may place or leave bulky waste outside a building or dwelling for longer than 72 hours, and the only exemption written into the section covers licensed junk dealers. The same code section requires every property to have solid waste removed at least once every seven-day period under subsection (b), so the 72-hour rule targets what a normal weekly pickup misses: couches, mattresses, appliances and yard debris too large for a garbage can.

Residents do not have to haul bulky items to the landfill themselves. Section 38-117(c)(3) lets the county's exclusive franchisee, Waste Industries, LLC, arrange special collection of bulky waste from residential and commercial customers under individual agreements, and the franchisee also operates the manned county convenience sites under § 38-117(c)(4). Anyone who lets an old refrigerator or freezer sit at the curb must also comply with § 38-104(f), which requires the door be removed from any abandoned icebox, freezer or refrigerator left where children can reach it.

Enforcement runs through the solid waste director under § 38-103(c), who is charged with administration and enforcement of the article. Because § 38-104 sets no separate penalty for subsection (e), the county's general Code § 1-6 default applies: a civil citation, 15 days to correct or pay, and each additional day the bulky waste remains outside counts as a separate violation.