Charleston, SC Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

City Code Sec. 14-46(a) makes residential participation mandatory in substance: every residence in the city, other than multi-family complexes handled separately, must maintain sufficient containers to hold the normal volume of solid waste generated between collections. That obligation is paired with the type, size and count limits set out in the same subsection (watertight cans up to 40 gallons, three per household). Subsection (g)(1) fixes the collection calendar: pickup happens Monday through Friday, except on holidays, with the specific day for each address assigned by the city sanitation division rather than chosen by the resident.

Because the code does not list which holidays shift the route or publish a fixed day-of-week map by address, residents must rely on the division's published route assignment for their actual pickup day. during standard time on the assigned day, and the environmental services division is not responsible for missed pickups if material was not out by that deadline. Multi-family complexes are carved out of subsection (a)'s residential container rule entirely, meaning their collection arrangements run through a separate track, typically dumpster service arranged with the property rather than curbside cart pickup on the city's residential route.