In Rutherford County, NC, brush, limbs, leaves and grass go to the yard waste area at the county landfill near Rutherfordton, where every load crosses the scales, but the landfill does not accept stumps. The county's ten convenience centers take household garbage and recyclables from residents outside city limits, not yard debris, and town residents should check their town's own limb and leaf pickup.
The landfill takes brush, not stumps
Rutherford County's solid waste page sends brush, tree limbs and clippings, grass and leaves to the yard waste area at the county landfill, at the end of Laurel Hill Drive off Industrial Drive and US 221 South. Bagged leaves are emptied onto the leaf pile, so take bags you can empty on the spot. The same page is blunt about stumps: they are not accepted. Neither are liquids, hazardous waste, chemicals or sludge. Garden odds and ends that are not plants, such as hoses, flower pots, netting and patio furniture, go to the transfer station rather than the yard waste area.
Scales, sorting and charges
Everyone crosses the scales at the landfill and does the paperwork at the office before unloading. Brush and limbs are charged by the ton at a lower rate than household trash, and demolition material has its own rate, so a clean load of brush is worth keeping clean. Metal and appliances go to the metal pile, with refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners set apart so the coolant can be removed. The county posts its current rates and operating days on the page. Check them before you go, since a trip with the wrong load or on a holiday is a wasted trip.
What the ten convenience centers are for
The county runs ten convenience centers, from Bills Creek near Lake Lure to Shiloh and Danieltown near Forest City and Golden Valley and Pea Ridge near Bostic. They take household garbage, furniture, metal, motor and cooking oil, batteries and clean recyclables. They do not take electronics, and the list does not include brush. They are for county residents living outside city limits, at no charge. Residents of a town are asked not to use them, and businesses are barred, including someone being paid to do work for a neighbor. Brush and limbs belong at the landfill.
Swap shops: keep it out of the pile
Seven of the convenience centers have swap shop sheds, where usable items can be left for someone else to take. That is a better end for a sound lawn mower, tools or outdoor furniture than the landfill. The county's list of things not allowed in the swap shops includes upholstered furniture, mattresses, clothing, paint and liquids, TVs and computers, so check it before you load the car. Clearing out a shed or a garage before a yard cleanup? Separate what someone could use from what is truly trash, and the trash pile gets smaller.
Forest City and the towns
Inside the towns, the town does the collecting. Forest City's street department runs weekly limb and rubbish routes, and from mid-October through mid-March it collects leaves at the curb, working the town in four sections on a set weekly route with Friday as a make-up day. Leaves need to be at the curb early on the morning of pickup. The town will not send its leaf truck onto private drives or private property. Rutherfordton, Spindale, Lake Lure and the other towns set their own rules, so call the town hall where you live.
Stumps: grind or haul elsewhere
With stumps barred at the county landfill, a stump that has to leave the property needs a private site that takes land-clearing debris (see tree stump disposal), and that means a heavy load, a trailer and a phone call first. For most yard stumps the simpler answer is not to move them. Grinding takes the stump below grade where it stands, and the grindings are raked back into the hole and topped, kept for beds or hauled as a far smaller load. Where a stump has to come out whole for a footing or a slab, the hauling is part of the removal job.
Burning in the county
Out in the county, a brush fire is legal only inside the state's limits: plant material from your own land, no public collection on offer, the hours the rule allows and a forecast free of bad air days, plus a Forest Service permit across most of the county. Stumps are the worst thing to put on that fire. Packed with soil and dense wood, they smolder long after the pile looks dead. In Forest City and the other towns with yard waste pickup, a fire is generally not an option at all. Ordinances and burn bans come first; the NC and SC burning rules have the details.
Common Questions
Does the Rutherford County landfill take stumps?
No. Rutherford County's solid waste page says stumps are not accepted at the landfill, though brush, limbs, clippings, grass and leaves go to its yard waste area. For a stump, grinding in place is usually simplest, or ask a private site that takes land-clearing debris before hauling one.
Can I take brush to a Rutherford County convenience center?
The convenience centers take household garbage, furniture, metal, oil, batteries and recyclables from county residents outside city limits. Brush is not on their list. Take limbs and yard waste to the yard waste area at the county landfill instead, and expect to cross the scales.
When is leaf pickup in Forest City NC?
Forest City's street department collects leaves at the curb from mid-October through mid-March, working one section of town each weekday with Friday as a make-up day. Leaves need to be at the curb early on the morning of your section's pickup. The town posts exact dates on its social media.
What to Do Next
With stumps barred at the landfill, grinding them in place is usually the simplest fix. Read about stump grinding in Rutherford County, ask about a roll-off container for the brush, or talk it through on (828) 574-4474.