Household Waste
Chatham County does NOT collect household garbage, or recycling at curbside. That service is provided through Individual subscription service with a private waste hauler. The collection service choices available to customers vary from company to company. A comprehensive listing of waste haulers is provided in the telephone book under “Garbage Collection,” in the “Yellow Pages.”

Chatham County does not regulate private waste haulers, so shopping for a waste hauler is like shopping for any other service-it pays to be careful. Check with the local Better Business Bureau at (912)-354-7521 to see if complaints have been logged against a hauler.

Container Code
The Sanitation Code requires homeowners to remove all trash receptacles used for the collection of their household garbage from the side of the road, public right-of-way, and in front of the dwelling unit, structure, or residence no later than 24 hours after collection of garbage or refuse. Failure to do so may result in a legal enforcement action by the County.

Chatham County provides residents in the unincorporated area a weekly curbside yard waste collection.

Containerized or stacked yard waste is placed at curbside no earlier than 24 hours ahead and no later than 7:00 a.m. on the day of collection.

To properly use the County’s yard waste and bulky item collection services, please:

• Use "marked" reusable containers or Kraft paper bags for grass clippings, pine straw/cones, and other small debris. PLASTIC BAGS ARE PROHIBITED FOR COLLECTION OF YARD WASTE.
• Yard waste containers must weigh less than 50 lbs. and be in a container smaller than 35 gallons.
• All materials should be at curbside by no later than 7a.m. on each collection day.
• Cut tree trunks, limbs, branches into 4 foot or less sections stacked at curbside.
• Place containerized yard waste on the street side of a ditch and not cover utility structures. Homeowners will be billed for damage to hidden/covered utilities.
• Bulky items should be placed at curbside no more than 3 days before the scheduled collection day.
• Mixing of yard waste with other materials, litter, or waste will result in the yard waste not being collected until the material has been properly sorted by the resident.