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

Sec. 19-7(a) sets the baseline: the owner or occupant of any premises where solid waste accumulates must remove or have it removed at least once each seven days. Sec. 19-7(b) gives recyclables a longer clock: material set aside for recycling must be removed at least once every fourteen days. Sec. 19-4 makes the generator, meaning the owner or occupant who produces the garbage, refuse, or recovered material, responsible for its satisfactory storage, collection, and disposal, and requires that material to reach a site or facility permitted to receive it.

Sec. 19-9 backs that up on the disposal side: solid waste must go to a facility the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has approved and permitted, recovered material must go to a facility the county manager has approved, and construction and demolition waste needs its own DEQ-permitted disposal site. Sec. 19-9(f) bars dumping solid waste or recovered material in any open dump, and Sec. 19-9(g) makes it unlawful to place litter or waste matter on a street, highway, or any property in the county unless it's in an authorized, lawfully designated container for pickup by an authorized collector.

Sec. 19-8 requires anyone collecting or transporting waste for hire to first get county manager approval, and to use only vehicles inspected and approved as compliant with federal, state, and local rules. Sec. 19-2 gives the county manager enforcement authority over the whole chapter, including equitable remedies like injunctions and abatement orders.