Craven County, NC Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Chapter 32, Article III, Division 3 of the Craven County Code (Collection and Disposal, originally adopted May 7, 2001) spells out how unincorporated county residents get trash and recyclables picked up. Section 32-126 requires every residence and hand commercial establishment, meaning a business generating less than three cubic yards of waste a week, to dispose of solid waste and recyclable material only through the methods this division sets out. Section 32-127 sets the service floor: the county must provide curbside collection of both solid waste and recyclable solid waste materials at a minimum of once per week.

That collection is delivered through franchisees the Board of Commissioners licenses under Article III, Division 2; each franchise agreement obligates the contractor to give every customer in its franchise area at least one weekly pickup on a schedule the county's solid waste director sets, per § 32-105(2), unless the director approves something different. Franchisees must keep collection vehicles clean, waterproofed, and covered against windblown trash, and the director inspects each franchisee's trucks and storage facilities annually by July 1 under § 32-105(7)-(8). Households pay for the service through a fee billed with property taxes under § 32-128, collected under the same rules, due dates, and lien procedures that apply to delinquent property taxes under § 32-4.

A physically incapacitated customer who cannot place a bag or cart at the curb can request that the county's coordinator arrange collection on a case-by-case basis under § 32-132.