Wayne County, NC Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Wayne County has no curbside yard waste pickup for the unincorporated area; residents haul brush, grass clippings and landscape debris to the county landfill themselves. Sec. 62-4 defines yard waste narrowly as solid waste consisting solely of vegetative matter resulting from landscaping maintenance, meaning mixed loads containing other trash do not qualify for the yard waste area. Sec. 62-58, the county landfill's operating policies, lists yard waste among the materials the solid waste manager requires to be segregated on arrival, alongside lead-acid batteries, used oil, white goods, tires and construction/demolition debris; the segregation mandate for yard waste took effect January 1, 1992 and applies to every load the landfill accepts.

Stumps, logs and limbs are treated separately again and must be placed only in designated areas, not mixed with garbage or with the yard waste pile. The landfill is staffed and open only when a county employee is on duty and the gate is posted open, with vehicle speed capped at 15 miles per hour on site and burning prohibited. A driver who arrives with yard waste mixed into an ordinary garbage load is not turned away at the gate, but Sec. 62-58(f)(3) directs that the driver be cited for a violation under Article VIII of Chapter 62 rather than refused admission.