Buncombe County, NC Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Sec. 62-30(d)(3) of the Buncombe County Code makes any disposal of solid waste outside the approved methods in subsection (d)(1), a sanitary landfill, an approved incinerator, or a director-approved recycling process, expressly prohibited anywhere in the unincorporated county. If refuse turns up on land or in water and it carries a name, address, or other identifying mark, the code creates a rebuttable presumption that the person identified dumped it. The director of solid waste must first attempt to make contact; once contact is made, the director can order the person to haul the refuse (and any additional refuse the director specifies) to an approved sanitary landfill and to report back within ten days of that contact with a landfill receipt proving disposal.

If the director cannot reach the responsible person after reasonable attempts, or the person ignores the request, the case moves to the criminal track under subsection (d)(6). Before that happens, the director must send written notice by certified mail or hand delivery spelling out the maximum penalty the person faces. The code carves out an exception for ordinary commerce: bags, boxes, cartons, or printed matter that only carry a store or restaurant's own logo, name, or address do not count as identifying marks for this purpose, so a stray shopping bag alone will not trigger the presumption.

Separately, Sec. 62-30(d)(4) bans throwing glass, broken crockery, nails, or other sharp debris on streets and sidewalks, and it carries the identical penalty. The director of solid waste administers and enforces this article, though the board of commissioners may designate another county department to handle enforcement instead.