Here’s everything to know about trash and burn laws in Beaufort County
With South Carolina quickly becoming one of the top spots for moving and Beaufort County ranked in the top five best counties to raise a family, it’s important to know some of the basics of living in a new place.
Although not the most exciting aspect of moving, waste collection is a critical function for any city.
Here’s everything you need to know about trash pick-up, convenience centers and trash burn laws for areas within Beaufort County.
How it works: trash pick-up
For the City of Beaufort, Capital Waste Services provides residents with weekly household trash collection.
They also provide once per week yard waste collection, every other week mixed recyclables collection and bulk item collection by appointment, which you can schedule by phone or online.
For the unincorporated areas of Beaufort County and contracted curbside locations, the following companies provide trash pick-up:
- Low Country Sanitation: (843) 838-4503
- Sunrise Sanitation: (843) 379-8888
- Waste Management: (843) 397-7670
- Waste Pro: (843) 645-4100
- Custom Carting/Atlantic Asphalt: (843) 441-7804
- Coastal Waste: (843) 891-5821
- Capital Waste Services: (803) 814-0040
For Beaufort County residents of apartments and condominiums, your complex may provide bulk pick-up from a complex dumpster, but recycling collection may not be offered.
Beaufort County offers convenience centers for residents to dispose of their residential trash. Four of these locations offer recycling options.
To use the Beaufort County convenience centers, you must have a recycling decal and solid waste pass. You can register for one or both online here.
All nine centers are open 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., but different centers are open on different days:
These 4 locations offer recycling and residential trash dumping
- 104 Simmonsville Road, Bluffton (closed Wednesdays)
- 26 Summit Drive, Hilton Head (closed Wednesdays)
- 80 Shanklin Road, Beaufort (closed Wednesdays)
- 639 Sea Island Parkway, St. Helena (closed Wednesdays)
These locations have dumping options for residential and household trash
- 63 Big Estate Road, Yemassee (open Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays)
- 10 Cee Cee Road, St. Helena (open Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays)
- 6 Keans Neck Road, Seabrook (open Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays)
- 208 Johnson Road, Seabrook (open Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays)
- 152 Cuffy Road, St. Helena (open Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays)
What about burning trash?
When it comes to burning trash, the state of South Carolina bans burning residential and household trash items.
Open burning can pose environmental and safety risks, according to the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services. In addition to causing brush, residential and forest fires, open burning can release toxic pollutants into the air and produce ash containing toxic metals.
These toxic materials can then be inhaled, ingested by children in contaminated soil or absorbed by produce through soil, resulting in potential health risks.
In South Carolina, it’s illegal to burn:
Cardboard
Electrical wires
Farm chemicals
Garbage
Heating oil
Household cleaners
Insulation and duct work
Paper
Paint
Painted, stained or treated wood
Plastics
Roofing materials
Tires and rubber products
However, Beaufort County does permit residents to burn certain items.
According to the City of Beaufort Fire Department, these items include natural vegetation, yard debris, limbs, leaves and other natural items.
It is recommended that before you burn any natural vegetation items, you request a permit by calling the burn request line at 843-525-7032 on each day on which burning will be conducted.
For first-time burns, the permit holder must have their property and burn area inspected by a fire official before the permit is issued.
Beaufort County states that all burning must be done before 3 p.m. and that there must be a nearby water source.
However, certain requirements, contact numbers and burn ordinances vary by municipality, so it’s important to check with your nearest fire department for those protocols.
Requirements to get a burn permit in Beaufort County
The pile must be located 50 feet from any structure or vegetation or 15 feet away if the burning will be conducted in an approved container (i.e., metal drum).
The burn area shall not be within 50 feet of a property line
The burn pile shall be no more than 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height
Only one burn pile is allowed to burn at one time
A continuous water source must be connected and able to reach the burn area
No vegetation above the burn area
No flammable or combustible liquids shall be used to ignite or maintain the fire
For additional information about burn permits and requirements in Beaufort County, refer to the burn ordinances or contact the City of Beaufort Fire Marshal’s office at 843-525-7055.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
