The Chatham County Solid Waste & Recycling Division is an enterprise fund, meaning it does not receive funding from the general fund tax dollars, like most county departments. SW&R relies on the Solid Waste Fee and other sources of revenue, such as the sale of recyclables, grants, and state funding. All funding is used to provide all of our programs and services, including the 12 Collection Centers, Household Hazardous Waste events, household recycling, tire disposal, scrap metal recycling, electronics recycling, illegal dumping, litter clean-ups, educational programming, and more.

To learn more about the Solid Waste Fee and decals, visit the decal page.

Solid Waste Ordinance

The Solid Waste Ordinance. guide the work of Chatham County Solid Waste & Recycling. 

Fee Schedule

The Solid Waste Ordinance gives Solid Waste & Recycling the ability to charge fees for services. The following is a list of the current fees. Learn more about details by following the links below.

• Solid Waste Fee- $137 per qualifying dwelling; each fee receives two decals
• Additional Decal- $10 per set
• Yard Waste Disposal- $20 per ton, with a $2 minimum
• Land Clearing & Insert Debris- $20 per ton, with a $2 minimum
• Mulch Sales- $5 for most vehicles; $10 for larger vehicles (larger scoop)
• Tarp to Secure Your Load- $3 for 6 x 8 foot tarp
• Backyard Compost Bin- $45
• Kitchen Collector for Food Waste- $5
• Electronics- $5 per large item; no charge with decal

Civil penalties for any violation of the ordinance:

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.

Waste and Recycling Studies 

A Waste Composition Study (WCS) is used to determine the makeup of our waste stream. Since Chatham County does not have a landfill, all of our trash is hauled out of county, so the more our residents are able to divert from the landfill the better. The results from the WCS provides us with valuable information that we use to make improvements to current programs or establish new programs.

Each study sampled one trash compactor and one container for bulky trash from each of the 12 Collection Centers, as well as the pre-crushers located at the Pittsboro and Cole Park Collection Centers.

2024 Waste Composition Study Final Report

2021 Waste Composition Study Final Report

2017 Waste Composition Study Final Report

2014 Waste Composition Study Final Report

2011 Waste Composition Study Final Report

In 2019, SW&R conducted our first Recycling Characterization Study (RCS) to learn what people are disposing of in the recycling. We used the data to learn what is being recycling, what non-recyclable items are being put in the bin, and what items might be causing confusing. We use the results to learn what items we need to focus on and improve educational efforts. We are committed to conducting an RCS every three years and just completed the second one in January 2023. 

2023 Recycling Characterization Study Final Report

2019 Recycling Characterization Study Final Report

If you have any questions please contact Shannon Culpepper, Recycling and Education Specialist at shannon.culpepper@chathamcountync.gov or 919-545-7874.

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