Charlotte, NC Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Charlotte does not print its pickup calendar in the Code. Section 10-26(d) gives that job to the SWS department head, defined as the director of solid waste services, who sets collection schedules and can alter them to observe holidays or for emergency situations. What the Code does fix is who gets service and when materials must be out. Under § 10-30(a), residential service covers city facilities, detached single-family dwellings, accessory dwelling units, small waste container-eligible development, and large waste container-eligible development. Residential waste must stay under the maximum allowance, and under § 10-26(f) anything above it is not collected. In a premises that mixes residential and nonresidential units, the nonresidential units are barred from residential service, though § 10-30(b) lets an eligible business use small business garbage service.

Unit counts decide the container type. A small waste container-eligible development has 29 or fewer residential units if approved before January 1, 2018, or 11 or fewer if approved after. A large waste container-eligible development has 30 or more units approved before 2018, or 12 or more approved after, counting units in duplexes, triplexes, quadraplexes, apartments, condos, and townhomes. Small containers under § 10-31(a) must be at the curb no earlier than the day before collection and no later than 6:00 a.m. on collection day, then removed by 11:59 p.m. Large containers that can be rolled follow the same window under § 10-31(c)(5). Yard waste (§ 10-32(a)(1)) and bulky waste and junk (§ 10-33(b)) use the same day-before and 6:00 a.m. limits, and a bulky pickup must be booked first because § 10-33(a) requires a collection date from the city. Containers sit at ground level within six feet of the curb and at least three feet from mailboxes, poles, cars, and trees. Special Tax District #1 businesses under § 10-31(a)(9) run a different clock: out by 7:00 a.m., removed by 5:00 p.m.