Chatham County Solid Waste & Recycling enforces local and state rules and regulations related to solid waste management and disposal throughout the county. The Chatham County Solid Waste Ordinance covers everything related to solid waste management such as disposal methods, littering, illegal dumping, solid waste fee, tipping fees, collection centers, household hazardous waste, private haulers, and construction and demolition. View the Solid Waste Ordinance on our Solid Waste & Recycling Documents page.

The Environment Enforcement Officer, and other Solid Waste & Recycling staff, have the authority to enforce all aspects of the Solid Waste Ordinance and any Solid Waste & Recycling Policies, including at the Collection Centers, Main Facility, Household Hazardous Waste, and any other events.

Call our Illegal Dumping Hotline 24 hours a day with any environmental enforcement issues.

Call the hotline about illegal dumping you have seen, litter on the side of the road, or any solid waste disposal issues. The Environmental Enforcement Officer (EEO) will investigate and determine if a violation has occurred and if responsibility can be determined. The EEO will also work to get the waste cleaned up, whether by the responsible party or not.

Criminal penalties are set by the North Carolina General Assembly. The Solid Waste Ordinance also includes civil penalties for any violation of the ordinance, and are as follows:

• First Offense- $100
• Second Offence- $200
• Subsequent Offense- $400

The civil penalties for violation for a commercial purpose, or a flagrant and willful violation, shall be $500.00.

Any penalties collected by Solid Waste & Recycling will be given to Chatham County Schools.

If you are interested in conducting a litter clean up, SW&R has supplies that you can check out for free. Learn more about our litter clean up supplies program.

If you have questions, please contact Justin Taylor, Solid Waste Manager, at (919) 545-7873 or email justin.taylor@chathamcountync.gov