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

Nash County's solid waste convenience centers, established under § 20-31, are restricted to household solid waste generated in the unincorporated county; agricultural, hazardous, industrial, institutional, municipal and radioactive waste are not accepted. Section 20-31(c)(5) encourages, but does not mandate, county residents to separate recyclable materials from their household trash and deposit them in special collection containers at the centers, making Nash County's program opt-in rather than a required curbside pickup. The ordinance also protects the recycling stream from scavenging. Section 20-31(c)(6) makes it unlawful to scavenge, loiter, solicit or trespass at a county solid waste convenience center or the county landfill, and a parallel provision governing the county's separate solid waste containers, § 20-33(5), states that scavenging through those containers for recoverable materials is strictly prohibited.

Access to the convenience centers themselves is also limited: under § 20-31(d), only county residents who have paid the solid waste convenience center user fee may use them, though § 20-34(c) and (d) lets a resident who instead pays for a licensed private hauler seek an exemption from that fee. A violation of any of these rules, whether scavenging, trespassing or using a center without paying the fee or showing a hauler exemption, is a misdemeanor under § 20-27, punishable under the county's general penalty, § 1-7, by a fine of up to $500, with each day of a continuing violation treated as a separate offense.