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

Chapter 62 of the Beaufort County Code of Ordinances defines yard waste for residential collection purposes as "any and all accumulations of grass, leaves, pine straw, small trees and branches, shrubs, vines and other similar items of less than six inches in diameter, four feet in length generated by the typical maintenance of lawns, shrubs, gardens and trees from residential properties" (§ 62-3). The same section is explicit that this material "shall not be commingled with garbage or solid waste," so it cannot simply be bagged with household trash for rollcart pickup.

Under § 62-23, the occupant or owner of residential property has a duty to "store all solid waste and recovered materials properly prior to collection" and to prevent "continued, excessive, and unsightly accumulations" on the property, a duty that extends to piled yard debris awaiting pickup. Section 62-25(4) carves commercial landscaping work out of the county's collection responsibility entirely: "Waste generated by commercial tree or yard contractor activities. " That means if you hire a tree service to remove a large limb or clear a lot, the county rollcart program will not take that debris; the contractor or the homeowner who hired them must arrange separate disposal, typically at a landfill or collection center.

" Enforcement of chapter 62 runs through the department of public works office of solid waste and recycling and county code enforcement officers under § 62-4, with citations returnable in magistrate's court.