Charlotte, NC Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 10-32(b), adopted with the rest of the solid waste article by Ordinance No. 9151 in 2017, sets separate "secondary collection service" rules for recyclables layered onto the primary trash rules in Sections 10-30 and 10-31. on the day of collection," the identical timing window that governs garbage carts. ," or wherever the department head specifies, and residents must not block sidewalk access while setting them out. The same refusal list that applies to garbage carts carries over to recycling: crews won't collect if they must unlock a door or gate, encounter an aggressive animal, are blocked by parked vehicles or equipment, would have to climb multiple steps, or find the container too damaged to service.

Small multi-family developments follow the single-family recycling rule under Section 10-32(b)(3) if they use small waste containers for their trash service, but shift to the multi-family container rule if they instead use large waste containers, splitting the same building type between two different recycling regimes depending on which garbage container it was issued.