Horry County, SC Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

Sec. 408 makes property owners responsible for screening, access and safety around dumpsters, roll-offs and compactors. Screening must reach at least one foot above the top of the dumpster on three sides, using either an architectural wall or an opaque privacy fence; clustered dumpsters can share one enclosure instead of individual screens as long as the whole site is enclosed against loose trash. Dumpsters must sit behind the principal structure's front building line, and any enclosure visible from a public right-of-way needs a gate. They can't block vehicle or pedestrian traffic, public parking, or access to any public easement or utility installation, and must sit on a concrete pad protected by bollards.

Commercial uses that hit specific square-footage thresholds must build a minimum enclosure size: an office or professional use of 10,000 square feet needs at least a 12-by-8-foot enclosure, rising to 30-by-12 feet at 25,000 square feet; restaurants trigger the same jump at just 1,000 and 5,000 square feet; and multifamily projects of 10 to 30 dwelling units follow the same small-to-large scale. Multifamily developments of 25 or more units must also add a dedicated 22-by-8-foot recycling enclosure sized for an 8-yard roll-off, placarded with the accepted recyclable materials list.

The Zoning Administrator can waive screening or reduce required parking by up to two spaces to make room for a recycling dumpster, and dumpsters brought in for temporary construction-site collection or short-term servicing are exempt from the enclosure rules altogether.