Gastonia, NC Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

City Code § 11-59 governs the city's recyclables collection program, providing service biweekly on the same day the administrator designates for curbside solid waste collection, with the recyclables container placed at curbside for pickup. Under § 11-59(2), recyclables containers cannot go out for collection before the day preceding the collection date and must be removed by midnight on collection day, mirroring the trash cart rules. Section 11-59(3) requires recycling customers to also follow the rollout container rules in § 11-60, meaning carts must stay accessible to collection crews, cannot exceed 200 pounds loaded, and cannot be stored in front of the home or the street-facing building line.

Ownership of set-out recyclables passes to the city once properly placed at curbside: § 11-54 deems recyclable materials, yard waste and bulky items placed at curbside abandoned by the owner and the property of the city or its authorized agent, and § 11-55 makes it unlawful for anyone other than the city's authorized collector to pick up those materials, with limited exceptions for private haulers serving nonresidential bulk container customers.