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

Section 17-71(a) ties recycling service to trash service: households and commercial or industrial establishments that already receive city solid waste collection using mobile containers also get curbside recycling at no additional fee. Commercial and industrial establishments that don't use city trash pickup can still add curbside recycling for a fee listed in Appendix A. The pickup schedule and the specific materials collected are both left to the city to determine, so accepted items can change without amending the ordinance itself. A related rule in section 17-61(11) shapes how recyclables actually get set out in automated collection areas: all recycling material must be placed loosely in the city-authorized recycling receptacle, and no bagged recycling material will be accepted for collection, meaning a bagged load simply gets treated and left as regular refuse instead of being pulled for recycling.

Businesses generating heavy cardboard volume have a further option under section 17-71(b): a separate container just for flattened corrugated paper, available on a limited, priority basis to in-city customers and high-volume generators, with a container-only fee for customers who already subscribe to city trash service and a separate utility fee, billed on the combined utility bill, for those who don't.