Richland County, SC Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

The county's recycling framework in Chapter 12, Article V rests on two different tracks. Residential recycling, covered separately at Sec. 12-22, comes bundled automatically with the Residential/Small Business Curbside Collection Program: households and eligible small businesses receive a roll cart and materials go out for pickup alongside garbage. Article V itself sets the program's broader legal purpose and reach. Sec. 12-42(a) commits the county to a residential recycling program consistent with state law that conserves natural resources and landfill space, promotes economic development and security, protects the environment, and conserves energy.

Sec. 12-42(b) extends that mission to commercial and business recycling, but explicitly frames participation there as encouraged and voluntary, not mandatory. Sec. 12-44 confirms the mechanism: business recycling is promoted primarily through education and voluntary reporting rather than through inspection or a permit requirement. The Director of Public Works reviews the list of accepted recyclable commodities annually based on market conditions and recommends changes to the County Administrator (Sec. 12-45), and the Director of Public Information runs the public awareness campaign that goes with any change.

All materials collected through county recycling programs, residential or commercial drop-off, become county property once collected, and are processed through a Materials Recovery Facility, with any resale revenue going back into the Solid Waste Fund (Sec. 12-46). The county must also report its recycling activity in the form and manner required by state and federal law (Sec. 12-47).