Lee County, NC Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Lee County Code § 22-51 states that all persons generating solid waste on residential, commercial, industrial or institutional premises in the unincorporated county are encouraged to separate recyclable material from other solid waste and make it available for recycling, while making clear the article does not stop anyone from donating or selling recyclables instead. Section 22-52 gives the director of general services authority to designate which items count as recyclable materials, meaning the recyclable list is set administratively rather than fixed permanently in the code.

Section 22-53 then fixes ownership: once recyclable material is placed in the designated container at a county-designated collection facility, it becomes the property of the county or its authorized agent, and no one other than a county employee or that authorized agent may remove recyclable material from a county collection facility. Because § 22-51 uses encouragement rather than a mandate, there is no county penalty for a resident who chooses not to separate recyclables; the enforceable pieces are the ownership and no-scavenging rules in § 22-53, which exist to protect the material stream the county has already committed to recycling once it is deposited.