Cherokee County, SC Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Cherokee County Code § 11-151 bans all open burning in the unincorporated areas of the county except as Article III of Chapter 11 allows. Yard debris burning is one of the allowed exceptions. Section 11-152(f) defines it as open burning to dispose of leaves, grass, weeds, grass clippings, pine straw, pinecones, pruning's and tree branches from a standing tree or yard trimmings grown on the premises of private residences or commercial properties and burned on those premises. The exemption in § 11-154(A) itself covers debris that originates at a private residence and is burned there.

Three conditions attach. First, smoke production must end, and no combustible material can be added to the fire, between official sunset of one day and official sunrise of the following day. Second, the outside perimeter of the burn must sit not less than fifty (50) feet from any structure or defined combustible material and not less than fifty (50) feet from the property line, and adequate provision must be made to keep the fire from spreading inside that distance. Third, a burn that covers more than fifty (50) square feet requires notice to the SC Forestry Commission at 1-800-986-5403 or scfc.gov/notify, to Cherokee County's Non-Emergency Line at (864) 487-2747, and to the resident's designated fire district department.

Section 11-153 adds attendance rules that apply to every exempt fire. The fire must be constantly attended until it is extinguished, and a portable fire extinguisher with a minimum 4-A rating, or other approved equipment such as dirt, sand, a water barrel, a continuous water source or a water truck, must be available for immediate use. The fire district or a law enforcement official can order a burn extinguished when it creates a hazard, ignores the article's conditions or lacks a required permit. A burn ban issued by the South Carolina Forestry Commission is enforced for the period the commission issues it (§ 11-155). Debris cleared from land outside predominantly residential areas falls under the separate land clearing exemption in § 11-154(E), which requires a distance of not less than one thousand (1,000) feet from public roadways and from residential, commercial and industrial sites.