New Hanover County, NC Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

Sec. 44-42(c) sets the line between cart service and dumpster service for non-residential accounts: stores, hotels, apartments, triplexes, quadruplexes, condominiums, theaters, office buildings, schools, clubs, and commercial or industrial establishments may petition for standard service only if their garbage stays at or under 180 gallons per unit per week and their recyclables, yard waste and bulky items are not excessive, as the county determines. Once refuse exceeds 180 gallons a week, exclusive of special collections, the owner must contract with a municipal waste collector holding a county franchise for commercial customers for bulk container refuse service, and refuse left outside the required container will not be collected.

Sec. 44-52(c) then governs how that dumpster has to be kept: commercial establishments must store refuse in containers, with refuse receptacles and bulk containers listed as the approved methods, so wind-driven debris and litter do not spread around loading and unloading areas, and any spillage or overflow has to be cleaned up immediately by the establishment. Only a hauler holding a county franchise under Sec. 44-55 can place, service or empty that dumpster for compensation; commercial franchises are mandatory but non-exclusive, so any hauler who meets the county manager's licensing requirements qualifies, and a franchise can run up to seven years.

Operating a dumpster route without that franchise is itself a violation subject to Sec. 44-58's enforcement provisions, on top of whatever penalty applies to the underlying refuse violation.