Columbia, SC Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

City Code § 19-35(a) draws a sharp line between garbage service, which is mandatory, and recycling service, which is not: "In those areas designated by the city, every person producing or having recyclable materials to be collected by the city may, on a voluntary basis and upon request to the city, keep on the premises or property occupied or used by him recyclables containers as specified in this article." A household outside a designated recycling area cannot get city recycling pickup, and even inside a designated area, the city will not drop off a recyclables container unless the resident requests one.

Once a household signs up, § 19-35(d) governs the equipment: the city issues one recyclables container per requesting household, and that container "shall remain the property of the city." If the container is damaged or lost, the resident, not the city, pays for a replacement; the code specifies that containers "damaged through normal use as a result of being emptied by city forces will be replaced at city expense," drawing a line between wear from city collection crews and resident-caused damage or loss. Recyclables containers are defined in § 19-31 as plastic receptacles bearing city identification, sized and designed by the city, and intended primarily for single-family and multifamily dwellings of six or fewer units. Frequency of pickup for participating households is set separately in § 19-40, which schedules one combined garbage-and-recyclables collection and one trash collection per week in designated recycling areas.