Additional decals are available for purchase for $10 per set through the Main Office. Please use the Decal Request Form (versión en español) or contact our Main Office.

Chatham County residents who paid their property tax bill by the deadline, should receive decals in the mail each year. Decals are mailed out by the end of January. Residents who have not received their decals by the middle of February should contact the Main Office.

There are several reasons decals may not be received in the mail. Please contact the Main Office, so they can look into it.

A decal is the only way an attendant working at a Collection Center knows who is allowed to use the center. Decals are dwelling specific, which means they should not be given to other people to use. Residents do not have to put their decal on their windshield, but do need to show it before unloading waste.

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 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.

With the fiscal year 2026 budget, the Solid Waste Fee was increased to $157. The Solid Waste & Recycling (SW&R) division is an enterprise fund. This means the department receives no funding from the County’s general fund. The largest funding source for SW&R is the Solid Waste Fee. Other funding sources include the sale of recyclables, grants, and state funding. In addition to operating the Collection Centers, and the transportation and disposal of household garbage, SW&R provides collection for household recyclables, tire disposal, scrap metal recycling, electronics recycling, household hazardous waste events, illegal dumping enforcement, and educational programming in the community and schools.

Since the last fee increase in fiscal year 2024, SW&R has seen an average of 4-5% increase in our costs each year. The operating costs for the department in fiscal year 2026 are projected to be $550,000 more than in fiscal year 2024, most notably for waste disposal. Personnel expenses have also increased due to job market conditions and increases in health insurance cost. The fee increase will cover these anticipated costs and a portion of the expected SW&R capital expenses, such as the purchase of new heavy-duty trucks, and one-time maintenance expenses at our Collection Centers, such as repaving and compactor replacement.

If the previous tenants did not return their decals, then the landlord, or new tenants, may purchase additional or replacement sets of decals through the Main Office once we verify the Solid Waste Fees has been paid, and proof of address has been provided. Please use the Decal Request Form (versión en español) or contact our Main Office.

The decals are mailed to the property owner and it is their responsibility to get it to the tenants. If renters have not received their decals, they should first contact their landlord. Renters are able to purchase an extra set of decals for $10 through the Main Office though, provided the landlord has paid the Solid Waste Fee.

Chatham County landowners who pay the Solid Waste Fee through their tax bill by the deadline should receive decals in the mail for their rental properties by the middle of February each year. A set of two decals are issued per qualified dwelling. Landlords are responsible for distributing decals to their tenants.

If the previous tenants did not return their decals, then the landlord, or new tenants, may purchase additional sets of decals through the Main Office for $10 once we verify the Solid Waste Fees have been paid and proof of address has been provided. Please use the Decal Request Form (versión en español) or contact our Main Office.

No, this is considered business waste. The centers are designed for regular household trash and recyclables. Business waste can be taken to a transfer station or can hire a private hauler. Contact the Main Office with additional questions about business waste.

Solid Waste & Recycling offers free recycling for businesses at our Main Facility. Learn more details about business recycling.

Some materials have limits on how much can be disposed of at the Collection Center at one time to make sure there is enough space for all residents. Several items have maximum amounts, including general trash and recycling. Learn more about maximum amounts.

All 12 Collection Centers are closed on Sundays. Eight centers are closed on Wednesdays. Only the Bonlee, Cole Park, Pittsboro, and Siler City Collection Centers are open on Wednesdays.

On days when a Collection Center is open, they are open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. Find all the addresses for the Collection Centers on our website.

The Collection Centers are closed on all State Holidays and Juneteenth every June 19th. The specific closings are holidays are posted on the Solid Waste & Recycling calendar.

Nine Collection Centers have limitations on what electronics can be accepted: Only items with a screen less than 25 inches across and weighing less than 50 pounds. At those centers an employee is picking up electronics with a box truck and pallet jack. The size limit helps to minimize the potential for injury to our staff who are handling these items.

Larger and heavier electronics are accepted at the other three Collection Centers and the Main Facility. Learn more about what is accepted in the Electronics Recycling program.

No. Scavenging is strictly prohibited. Due to safety and privacy concerns, items placed in the containers at the Collection Center and Main Facility become the property of Chatham County.

We encourage residents to recycle or put gently used items in the Swap Shop for reuse, but once an individual chooses to place an item in a certain bin, no one can remove it. The exception is if attendants or staff have to move an item because it was placed in the wrong bin.

Residents with a current decal may leave items in the Swap Shop so that they can be reused by other residents. All personal information should be removed first.

Learn more about what is accepted in the Swap Shop.

Residents living in the unincorporated areas of the county pay an annual solid waste fee of $157. This fee is not automatically applied to town residents. Although the towns offer curbside collection of trash and recycling, residents living in the town limits of Apex, Cary, Goldston, Pittsboro, or Siler City who wish to have access to the Collection Centers can choose to pay the $157 Solid Waste Fee per year. Please use the Decal Request Form (versión en español) or contact our Main Office.

The Collection Centers have Mixed Recycling bins for residents to recycle aluminum cans, metal cans, paper, cardboard, and plastic bottles, tubs, jugs, and jars. The centers also have recycling bins for glass bottles and jars.

Solid Waste & Recycling worked with the towns and private haulers to make recycling easier for residents whether they use the Collection Centers or curbside recycling.

Learn more about Recycling Right in Chatham County.

When items are placed in recycling that are not recyclable they are considered contamination. If too much contamination ends up in the recycling, it is too difficult to sort out and may end up being disposed of in the landfill.

Lots of people put items in the recycling bin when they are not sure it is recyclable. Either because it looks similar to an item that is recyclable or they are hoping it will ultimately be recycled. If you are not 100% sure an item can be recycled, do not put it in the recycling bin. When it doubt, throw it out!

Learn more about Recycling Right in Chatham County.

SW&R staff want residents to know that if they are placing an accepted item in the Mixed Recycling bin it has a really great chance of being recycled. Not all plastics are the same and everything made of plastic cannot be recycled.

Plastic clamshells and other to-go containers have a very small chance of being recycled as there are very few markets for them. There are also few recycling markets for rigid plastics, like toys and buckets.

Plastic bottles, jugs, jars, and tubs are more easily recycled because they have established recycling markets so are accepted in the Mixed Recycling. A plastic bottle, jug, or jar is recyclable if it has a neck smaller than the base. Plastic tubs are recyclable if there is a plastic lid that can be placed back on. Containers must be empty and dry.

Learn more about Recycling Right in Chatham County.

Recycling markets changed dramatically in 2018 with some global changes in the recycling system, making it harder to recycle certain items. Plus, recycling in the U.S. continues to be heavily contaminated. Contamination occurs when items that are not recyclable end up in the recycling bin.

All mixed recyclables go to a material recovery facility (MRF) to be sorted, through a series of machines and manual labor, and then the items are sent to a processor for recycling. MRFs have had to slow down their lines and add more people to try and reduce contamination and ensure the truly recyclable items are being sorted correctly. Individuals can help prevent contamination by making sure the correct recyclables are going in their bin.

SW&R conducted a recycling characterization study in September 2019 to learn what is in the Mixed Recycling. The study found that across the 12 Collection Centers and Main Facility, there is an average contamination rate of 8%, which is very good. However, the study also showed that a lot of contamination comes from materials that are look-a-likes: items that look similar to items that are recyclable, but are not. There also seems to be confusion on what is recyclable in general. So, in November 2019 we removed several items from our Mixed Recycling.

Another study was conducted in 2023, which showed a contamination rate of only 4%. See the results of the past recycling and waste characterization studies.

Learn more about Recycling Right in Chatham County.

Residents without a decal will be charged $5.00 per television, monitor, desktop computer, laptop computer, printer, scanner, copier, and fax machine. There will be no charge for smaller electronics accepted in our program, such as cell phones, routers, radios, and hard drives. Residents without a decal do not pay the annual solid waste fee, which helps to cover the cost of recycling electronics.

The Electronics Recycling at our Main Facility at 28 County Services Road, Pittsboro. We are open Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Learn more about what is accepted in the Electronics Recycling program.

Yard waste is banned from being disposed of in landfills in North Carolina. That is why we cannot accept it at the Collection Centers and residents cannot put it in their curbside trash can, for those with that service.

Yard waste is accepted at the Solid Waste & Recycling Main Facility, for a fee. Learn more about yard waste disposal.

Alternatively, yard waste can be put in a compost bin or left on your property to decompose.

Chatham County Solid Waste & Recycling does not provide curbside pickup service in the County; those services are provided by a private hauler. Residents who live within town limits should contact the town about those services. Otherwise, the name of the company should be written on the side of the trash/recycling can.

Chatham County Solid Waste & Recycling does not provide curbside pickup services in the County; those services are provided by a private hauler. Residents who live within town limits should contact the town about those services. Otherwise, the name of the company should be written on the side of the trash/recycling can.

Chatham County Solid Waste & Recycling does not provide dumpster rental service in the County; those services are provided by a private hauler. We have a list of private haulers that are permitted to work in the county on our website.

Chatham County’s landfill closed in 1993. There is no landfill in Chatham County. There also is no transfer station. All waste from the Collection Centers is taken to a landfill in Randolph County or transfer stations in Durham and Sanford, where the waste is taken to a landfill in Sampson County. Find a transfer station or landfill.