Durham, NC Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Section 58-97 of the Durham City Code sets the baseline preparation standard for anything set out for city pickup. Garbage placed in a receptacle must be wrapped or bagged and drained of wastewater, no liquids beyond garbage's own natural moisture may go into the can. The same section requires source separation: recyclables must be properly prepared, kept apart from garbage, and placed into a separate bin, and it is a violation to put recyclables into the garbage receptacle at all. This sits inside Article III of Chapter 58, "Preparation, Etc., of Refuse and Recyclables for Collection," which also governs yard waste (Section 58-98) and large trimmings (Section 58-99), so the wrapping-and-separation rule is the general starting point crews check before anything more specific applies.

Collection itself runs on schedules the Director of Solid Waste sets and may adjust for holidays or emergencies under Section 58-125, with hauling authority for city-collected material restricted to persons under the director's authority per Section 58-3, a private hauler picking up recyclables set out for the city commits a separate violation. As with the rest of Chapter 58, enforcement of a wrapping or separation violation is civil, not criminal: Section 58-8 authorizes a remedial fee set by city council resolution, each day of noncompliance is a separate offense, and a resident may request director review within ten days under Section 58-10 before unpaid fees accrue 1 percent monthly interest under Section 58-11(e).