Columbia, SC Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Under City Code § 19-41, business and commercial receptacles must be set out for collectors no later than 7:00 p.m., and any receptacle left on a city street or sidewalk must come back off by 9:00 a.m. the morning after pickup. The code additionally bars placing receptacles on any sidewalk or street between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, or between 10:00 p.m. Saturday and 6:00 p.m. Sunday, so a cart or bulk container cannot simply sit curbside all week. Hazardous refuse, defined in § 19-31 to include poisons, acids, caustics, infected materials and explosives, is flatly excluded from city collection under § 19-41(c): "No hazardous materials shall be collected." Residents who need such waste hauled away must arrange private disposal.

Section 19-41(d) covers dead animals: small dead animals such as cats and dogs are collected free of charge between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. once a resident notifies the solid waste division and the body sits somewhere the crew can reach, but owners of large dead animals must handle removal and disposal themselves. The article is administered under § 19-32 by the director of public services, and § 19-33 puts enforcement in the hands of that director together with the chief sanitarian and any code enforcement officers the city manager designates. Chapter 19 works alongside § 19-35's curb-placement rules and § 19-40's weekly frequency limits, so a resident who misses these window restrictions can also be cited under the related sections of the same article.