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

Sec. 20-4(b) puts the weekly removal duty on the owner, occupant, tenant, or lessee of the property, not on any particular hauler, meaning it is the resident's responsibility to arrange for at least one seven-day pickup cycle. Because unincorporated Durham County has no public curbside trash truck of its own, collection is provided through private solid waste collectors licensed by the county under Sec. 20-7: an applicant must show adequate equipment, insurance, and experience to the director of general services, and a license is good for one year and displayed on the collection vehicle in letters at least three inches high.

Once a licensed hauler is collecting, Sec. the following morning. Residents pay for the service indirectly through the county's annual solid waste management fee under Sec. 50 when first adopted and reviewed annually since, billed on the property tax bill for every residence outside the corporate limits of Durham and Chapel Hill. Noncommercial garbage may also be self-hauled to one of the county's residential convenience centers under Sec. 20-4(h) rather than waiting on a route.