Charlotte, NC Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Eligible units
- Single-family through large multi-family, city facilities
- Volume limit
- Less than the department's maximum allowance
- Mixed-use exclusion
- Nonresidential units barred from residential service
- Disability accommodation
- Backyard pickup with approved medical form
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 9151, 9-11-2017
Summary
Charlotte's Solid Waste Services department provides mandatory residential garbage collection under City Code Section 10-30(a) to single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and multi-family developments, plus city facilities. Service is capped at a department-set maximum allowance per pickup, and a property with both residential and business units can't draw residential service for its commercial side.
(a)Residential solid waste services.(1)This service shall be provided to city facilities and the following residential units: single-family detached homes, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, small multi-family development, and large multi-family development.(2)Any residential solid waste shall be in an amount less than the maximum allowance.(3)If a premises includes both residential units and nonresidential units, then the nonresidential units on the premises are prohibited from receiving service pursuant to section 10-30(a).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 56).
Full Breakdown
Section 10-30, enacted by Ordinance No. 9151 in 2017, sets out the "types of primary service" SWS provides and to whom. Subsection (a) is the residential program: it covers city facilities and every residential unit type from single-family detached homes and duplexes up through triplexes, quadplexes, small multi-family developments and large multi-family developments. Each of those properties is limited to "an amount less than the maximum allowance," a limit the department head sets under Section 10-26(a)(4) and (5) rather than a fixed number printed in the ordinance.
m. Monday through Friday and removed within an hour of collection. Subsection (d) adds a persons-with-disabilities service allowing backyard collection of small containers under the same maximum allowance for anyone whose health would be seriously threatened by hauling waste to curbside, conditioned on a medical verification form approved by SWS; the city can discontinue that accommodation if a renewed verification isn't provided within 60 days of a request. 403 of the Zoning Ordinance is not eligible for city service at all.
Violations & Fines
Section 10-30 itself sets no separate fine, but noncompliant set-outs under the primary service program are enforced through related sections: SWS can decline to collect waste that isn't prepared under the article, exceeds a safe two-person lift, or won't fit the truck (Section 10-26(e)), and improper curbside timing draws a $150.00 civil penalty under Section 10-115.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every home in Charlotte get city trash collection?
Can I get trash picked up from my backyard instead of the curb?
What if my property has both an apartment and a storefront?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Charlotte
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