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

Division 1 of Chapter 44, Mandatory Residential Service, makes trash pickup compulsory rather than optional for households in unincorporated New Hanover County. Sec. 44-42(a) states that all single-family residences and duplexes shall receive service, and lets the director of environmental management grant a written hardship exemption tied to a customer's age or infirmity so the county moves the cart from the house instead of the curb. Sec. 44-42(b) lets a homeowners association drop county service only if it signs a contract for equivalent or better service with a private hauler.

Under Sec. 44-43(1), the county issues a 90-gallon roll-out cart to every covered customer and services it at least once a week on a regular schedule; the same section also sets out weekly recycling, yard waste, and on-request bulky item pickup for the same premises. Rates for this mandatory service are fixed by the county commissioners and published in the fee schedule at Appendix B under Sec. 44-41, and only a narrow list of accounts, county government and schools, NCDOT Adopt-A-Highway crews, director-approved community cleanup events, and 501(c)(3) resale charities, can apply in writing 30 days ahead for a tipping-fee waiver.

If refuse is set out improperly and becomes a health or safety hazard in the right-of-way, Sec. 44-44 lets the county or its franchisee remove it after 72 hours' notice and bill an additional charge on top of the regular rate. Administration and enforcement of the whole chapter rests with the county manager or a designee under Sec. 44-57.