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

Surry County's zoning code addresses dumpster placement in two specific contexts rather than one general commercial-dumpster ordinance. Under Section 154.019-03(H), every manufactured home park must have a dumpster installed on a concrete pad and kept accessible and available to residents, and the owner must file a refuse disposal plan satisfactory to the Local Ordinance Officer; the code defines 'waste disposal containers' to mean dumpsters, and the approved plan must be noted on the park's detailed development plan. Providing the dumpster and pad is not optional paperwork: Section 154.019-03(K)(2) lists waste disposal containers among the required improvements the Surry County Inspections Department checks before it will approve electrical connections for the park, and Section 154.019-03(J)(1) requires the grounds to stay free of debris that could harbor rodents or breed flies and mosquitoes.

If an existing park's refuse setup falls below these standards, Section 154.019-03(L) lets the Local Ordinance Officer recommend that the Zoning Administrator revoke the park's special use permit, triggering a quasi-judicial hearing before the Board of Adjustment under Section 154.019-03(M). Separately, Section 154.008(20)(a)2 sets a district-wide standard for children's homes: dumpsters, along with buildings, recreation areas and places of assembly, must be set back at least 75 feet from any property line or right-of-way, part of the same site-standards package that sets minimum acreage by capacity.

Because these are use-specific rules, a commercial business outside a manufactured home park or children's home is not bound by either dumpster placement standard directly, though general nuisance and screening rules elsewhere in the code can still apply to an unscreened or overflowing dumpster.