Rock Hill, SC Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Rock Hill's residential recycling program is part of the City Public Works automated weekly collection route established under Chapter 17 (Solid Waste) of the Code of Ordinances and authorized by SC Code §5-7-30 and the SC Solid Waste Policy and Management Act of 1991 (SC Code §44-96-10 et seq.), which directs South Carolina municipalities to operate solid-waste-reduction programs that include source separation and recycling. Recyclables ride a separate truck on the same weekly route as garbage and yard waste; blue collection bins are set at the curb by 6:30 AM on the scheduled collection day and must be at least four feet from the green garbage cart so the recycling truck can swing in without striking the adjacent cart. Bins are removed by 6:30 AM the next day. The City's published accepted-materials list (curbside): aluminum cans, aluminum foil, and aluminum plates - emptied or with food removed; steel cans - emptied with lids pushed inside the cans (so the lid does not lacerate sorting-line workers); plastic bottles, jugs, and jars - empty, with screw-on lids on; mixed paper - newspapers, magazines, office paper, junk mail, but NO shredded paper (which fouls the optical sorters); chipboard - cereal boxes, tissue boxes, cracker boxes, shoe boxes, paper-towel tubes; and corrugated cardboard - stacked empty, flattened, beside (not in) the curbside recycling bin. Materials NOT accepted curbside: glass (no glass at the curb - drop off at City recycling events or designated facilities), plastic bags (return to grocery store collection or trash), Styrofoam and polystyrene foam, cartons (juice boxes, milk cartons, half-and-half cartons - the polyethylene/aluminum-lined cartons foul the paper stream), and food-contaminated items (greasy pizza boxes, food-soiled paper). Recycling questions: City Public Works at 803-325-2500.