Effingham County, GA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Chapter 66's solid waste ordinance, rewritten by Ord. No. 2025-317 on July 1, 2025, treats recycling differently from trash pickup. Sec. 66-32(f) gives the board of commissioners authority to establish rules and regulations for the collection of recyclable materials at county-operated disposal sites, and Sec. 66-105(6) only requires the residential service provider to offer recovered materials and recycling services to customers if the county's service agreement requires it. Where recycling collection is provided, Sec. 66-104(a)(2)a.3 spells out the mechanics: residential recovered materials are collected by the service provider only if the service agreement calls for it, and each residential service unit owner who wants the service must contact the provider or the county and place the recovered materials in the designated recovered-materials storage container at the curb for pickup in a timely manner.

Ownership of anything set out at the curb transfers to the residential service provider once it's placed for collection. The code separately bars anyone from depositing waste, water, or litter into county-owned or contracted containers designated for recyclables, and the board can require recyclables to be kept separated from other waste. Scavenging from any container, including recycling receptacles, at a county-operated disposal site requires the board's express written permission.