Frequently Asked Questions

Magnets with trash and recycling information are available in the Town Administration Building lobby.

Residential trash is collected twice per week all year long by the Town's solid waste contractor Simmons and Simmons Management, Inc.

The schedule is as follows:

• Mondays: first ocean-side trash collection
• Tuesdays: first sound-side trash collection
• Wednesdays: entire Town recycling collection
• Thursdays: second sound-side trash collection
• Fridays: second ocean-side trash collection

Ocean-side includes all locations on the south side of NC 58 and Coast Guard Road, and The Point area. Sound-side includes all locations on the north side of NC 58 and Coast Guard Road.

Trash dumpsters at condominium complexes will continue to be emptied every Monday throughout the town, with additional collections scheduled for every Friday, only if necessary.

Recyclables are collected throughout the entire town each Wednesday. To see what is accepted, read the Accepted Recyclables List (PDF).

Another feature of the Town's contract with Simmons and Simmons is that personnel also roll-BACK trash and recycling containers approximately 30 feet from the road after collection. The initial roll-OUT is still the responsibility of the resident, property owner, and/or vacation rental company.

Garbage and/or recyclable containers may be placed adjacent to the street no earlier than noon the day before collection is scheduled and must be returned to an acceptable location by 9 am on the day after collection.

Application for Handicapped Service (PDF) - please call our office at 252-354-3424 for more information.

Services will not run on these dates:

November 23 and 24, 2026 - In observance of Thanksgiving

December 25, 2026 - In observance of Christmas 

January 1, 2027 - In observance of New Year’s Day

Regular Collection - Accepted Items

The regular trucks will pick up:

• Household garbage and refuse
• Furniture - maximum of two (2) pieces per stop, and those 2 pieces cannot be any larger than one (1) sofa/couch
• Mattresses, bedsprings
• Beach chairs
• Small lawn mowers (fluids must be drained)
• Small counter-style appliances
• Small household items
• Empty paint cans or cans with a small amount of residual dry paint

Regular Collection - Unaccepted Items

Regular collection will not pick up:

• Construction and Demolition (C&D) Materials
  • Examples include lumber, boards, windows, cabinetry, siding, shingles, asbestos, doors, toilets, drywall, plaster, carpeting/padding, flooring, tile, concrete, bricks and pavers, landscape timbers, pallets, and similar items.
• White goods/Large Appliances/Grills
  • Examples include refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers, dishwashers, hot water heaters, microwaves, gas/charcoal grills and similar items
  • The Town offers a once-a-month curbside pick-up for white goods. Please call Town Hall at 252-354-3424 to schedule a pick-up.
• Vegetative Debris/Yard Waste
  • Examples include leaves, small limbs and branches, grass clippings, vegetative clippings, and similar items.
  • The Town also offers weekly curbside vegetative debris/yard waste pick-up
• Televisions and Monitors
  • Examples include computers, monitors, televisions, and similar items
• Hazardous Materials
  • Examples include paint, chemicals, cleaners, oil and filters, fuel, lithium batteries and similar items. 
  • Once a year the NC Cooperative Extension Service and the Coastal Environmental Partnership sponsor a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day in Carteret County. They accept: latex and oil paints, used motor oil, lawn and garden fertilizer and pesticides, farm pesticides, gasoline, drain openers, paint thinners, cooking oil, anti-freeze and batteries. Learn more about the next scheduled collection at: https://www.cepnc.org/hazardous-waste

Alternatives

Carteret County offers several options for proper disposal of each of the other materials which may not be picked up curbside. Please check Carteret County's helpful website or call 252-648-7878.

Carteret County offers several area convenience locations which have the following hours of operation:

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday
  7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Wednesday
  2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Sunday
  1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Refuse Containers

All residential units, regardless of type of residential use, will be required to provide "adequate containment" of all refuse and recyclables.

All residential units will be required to use standard 65-gallon or 96-gallon roll-out containers. Those who are physically unable to use 65-gallon or 96-gallon containers can receive authorization to use standard 40-gallon containers for residential refuse. A doctor's note or handicapped parking card is required to receive authorization to use standard 40-gallon containers. These individuals are urged to contact Town Hall for this special authorization.

All residential vacation rental units will be required to use one standard 96-gallon roll-out container per 3 bedrooms.

Recycling Containers

The Town has experienced a significant increase in the volume of recyclables collected over the past few years and has experienced more instances of overflowing recyclables.

The Town discontinued the sale of the 18-gallon open recycling bins in late 2012, and all permanent residents and second homeowners are now required to utilize a minimum of one 40-gallon (or larger) roll-out recycling container. Vacation rental units are now required to utilize a minimum of one 90-gallon roll-out recycling container for every 3 bedrooms in the vacation rental unit.

90-gallon and 40-gallon roll-out recycling containers are available for sale at Sound ACE Hardware.

Acquiring New Containers

The Town does not sell the containers, they should be purchased at Sound ACE Hardware, located in the Emerald Plantation Shopping Center.

You may purchase your container at any store other than Sound ACE Hardware but the container must be compatible with the style of containers pictured in order to be compatible with the truck:

Trash Container: Green or Black

Recycle Container: Blue

Effective July 1, 2008 the Town will no longer charge a fee nor require a sticker for white goods pickup.  The Town will only require that you notify Town Hall to add your white goods collection point to our list for pickup.  The Town will then pick up these white goods items on the 2nd Friday of each month.  Please note that you can call in the white goods collection point by dialing 252-354-3424 or requests can also be made by emailing whitegoods@emeraldisle-nc.org. In your email, list your name, address, phone number and the white goods to be picked up.

You may also haul your own appliances to the county drop site which is located about 4.5 miles north on Hwy 58 from the bridge, then turn left on West Fire Tower Rd. You need to show identification that you are an Emerald Isle resident.

Recyclables can be co-mingled in your recycling container.

Items permitted are:

Paper

Allowed

• Newspaper
• Brochures
• Catalogs
• Magazines
• Junk Mail
• White Paper
• Phone Books
• Colored Paper
• Paper Bags
• Computer Paper
• Soft Covered Books
• File Folders
• Cereal Boxes
• Cardboard Boxes
• Orange Juice Cartons

Prohibited

• Napkins
• Tissues
• Paper plates
• Please do not put anything in bags. Please keep clean and dry. Thank you.

Plastic

Allowed

• Number 1 through Number 7 plastic containers (look on the bottom to identify)

Prohibited

• Grocery
• Sandwich bags
• 5-gallon buckets
• Styrofoam
• Plastic grocery type bags

Glass

Allowed

• Clear, brown and green glass containers

Prohibited

• Ceramic or porcelain cups and plates
• Drinking glasses or stemware
• Heat resistant ovenware
• Light bulbs, mirrors or window panes

Metals

Allowed

• Aluminum and steel cans

Prohibited

• Pie pans
• Foil
• Cans that have contained hazardous waste (oil, insecticide, paint, etc.)

You may also want to visit the Carteret County Solid Waste and Recycling webpage for more information.

Programs

Learn more about Wheels For Wishes. Wheels For Wishes is a car donation program benefiting Make-A-Wish® Eastern North Carolina. The Wheels For Wishes Program is proud to offer an easy way to recycle or donate unwanted cars, trucks, motorcycles, SUVs, RVs, or even boats, by turning them into a wish for a local child. Visit the Wheels for Wishes website for more information.

Cars To Cure Breast Cancer accepts donated vehicles and either recycles or auctions them off. Earned proceeds from the sale of the vehicle benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. All donations help to fund breast cancer research so that we can one day see a cure for breast cancer.

Visit the Cars to Cure Breast Cancer website.

Racks

Solid waste racks will no longer be permitted in the Town's right-of-way. Solid waste racks will be permitted on private property, however, racks and containers must be permanently stored at least 30 feet from the public right-of-way or behind the front or sidewall of the structure.

The Town's yard waste collection service utilizes two automated brush trucks that are operated by Town employees. The yard waste collection service is provided as follows:

Effective August 1, 2013, it is no longer necessary for residents and property owners to call the Town to be placed on a list for yard debris collection. Town staff will now make a continuous pass through all streets in the Town. One truck operates in the area between Lee Avenue and the Eastern limits of the town, and the other operates in the area between Lee Avenue and the Pointe. The Town's goal is to collect all yard debris within 7 days of placement at the edge of the street during the "off" season (Labor Day-Memorial Day) and within 14 days during the summers season (Memorial Day-Labor Day.)

The Town is pleased to offer these popular services to our residents and property owners. Yard debris collection services are funded exclusively by the Town's annual solid waste fee, which also funds all residential trash, recycling, and beach strand collection.

The guidelines allow for maximum 6 feet long segments with a diameter no greater than 8 inches. The automated brush truck is able to pick up the large yard waste items with no difficulty.

Please note that yard debris must be placed in neat, separate piles no larger than 10 feet long by 10 feet wide by 4 feet high at the curbside. Leaves and grass clippings should be bagged in paper, biodegradable bags.

The Town's service is available for developed lots only. The yard waste collection service is funded 100% by the Town's annual solid waste fee, and this fee is paid by the owners of developed lots only.

The Town does not collect construction debris. This type of debris can be disposed of at the West Firetower Road site (off Highway 58) or the Newport Transfer Station on Hibbs Road (between U.S. 70 and NC 24) in Newport.