Dumpster Permits in Spartanburg and Spartanburg County

The short version

Driveway or private lot: we found no City of Spartanburg, Spartanburg County or town permit for a roll-off on private property, though Greer limits where a temporary dumpster can sit on the lot. City of Spartanburg street, sidewalk, alley or parking space: the City's Temporary Street Closure and/or Encroachment application — a minimum fee of $75, a $1,000,000 liability certificate, a $10,000 surety bond and an approved traffic control plan. State roads: S.C. Code §57-7-210 bans obstructions anywhere in a highway right-of-way, and SCDOT issues encroachment permits for work in its right-of-way. County roads: no dumpster permit found. Who may haul: Spartanburg County requires a collector's license and disposal at the county landfill, and the City and several towns require business licenses. We hold ours.

City of Spartanburg — the street closure and encroachment application

Driveway: we found no City rule for a roll-off on a private driveway in City Code Chapter 28 or 30. Street or sidewalk: the City's Building Inspections form center posts a "Temporary Street Closure and/or Encroachment Application." In its own words, it "is for temporary street closures or encroachment of streets, sidewalks, alleys, parking spaces, and paths within the City of Spartanburg rights-of-way." Before the permit is issued, the City wants a certificate of liability for $1,000,000 and a $10,000 surety bond, both naming the City as holder; a hold harmless agreement; a traffic control plan approved by the Traffic Services Manager; and a copy of the SCDOT permit if the location is a state road.

The form lists a "Minimum fee of $75.00" and says "APPLICANT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES AND SET-UP." It also says "No permit will be processed before a business license is obtained." You enter the start and end dates and times yourself — we found no fixed maximum length. The form does not name dumpsters; its closure reasons are cranes, construction vehicles and equipment, deliveries, street maintenance, exterior building maintenance and "Other." Ask the City which line a roll-off falls under when you apply.

City Code — consent, half the street, and lights

City Code §30-156(a) says "It shall be unlawful to create or allow an obstruction of any street within the city without the consent of the city manager." The definitions are wide: an obstruction is "any object other than a lawfully parked, registered motor vehicle," and the street "shall include any area within the street right-of-way including the area between the curb-line and adjacent property lines" — so the grass strip counts. The city manager can post a placard giving three days' notice, or remove an obstruction without notice when immediate harm to the City's rights makes any delay improper.

§30-158 covers building materials in the street. Part (a) requires the permission of the building official, for no more of the street than the front of the lot and no more than halfway across it. Part (b) requires railings and lights at night: "There shall be at least one light placed at each end of the obstruction and one light at every 25-foot interval between." A 22-foot container needs a light at each end. We found no separate City rule on reflectors.

State roads — SCDOT

S.C. Code §57-7-210 says "highway" includes "the entire area within a highway right of way, including the shoulders and parking areas," and makes it unlawful "to place obstructions upon any such highway." The penalty is a fine of up to $100 a day, up to 30 days in jail, or both. SCDOT issues encroachment permits for work within SCDOT-maintained rights-of-way through its EPPS Next system, and says "There are no fees associated with an SCDOT Encroachment Permit." We found no SCDOT rule or permit type written specifically for roll-off dumpsters — reading a container as an "obstruction" is our reading of the statute, not an SCDOT statement — so on a state road, the driveway is the answer. Inside the City, the encroachment form asks for a copy of the SCDOT permit whenever the spot is on a state road.

Unincorporated county — Boiling Springs, Roebuck and Moore

Boiling Springs and Roebuck are Census-designated places and Moore is an unincorporated community, so county rules apply. We found no county permit for a dumpster on a county road. County Code Chapter 62 covers excavations in county roads (§62-17), not containers, and §62-19 makes anyone who moves an "object or contrivance" on a public road liable for damage to it. County Roads and Bridges posts an encroachment permit application, but we could not read it, so we cannot say whether it covers a container — keep the box on the property. Our own yard on Asheville Highway is in unincorporated Spartanburg County, just outside the city limits.

Many roads outside the towns are state roads. The Town of Cowpens puts it plainly: "Most all streets and roadways in the Town are owned and maintained by either the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SC DOT) or the Spartanburg County Department of Roads & Bridges." Either way, the driveway is the plan.

The towns, one by one

Greer, which spans Greenville and Spartanburg counties, has a specific rule. Its UDO §4.6.D.3.b says a temporary dumpster is "for the sole purpose of collecting and removing refuse generated from the same property." With an active City building permit it may sit in the front setback, but not in the sight triangle and only on a paved surface; without one, only one dumpster is allowed per dwelling unit and it may not be placed in the front setback. Greer Code §62-181 bans "any obstructions whatsoever" on City streets. Pacolet §18-9(1) keeps business bulk containers off the sidewalk, curb and street unless the Town designates a spot, and Ordinance 2024-02 closes Stone Street and Montgomery Avenue to commercial through trucks, except for deliveries to addresses there.

Lyman zoning §822.4(B)(2) keeps temporary portable storage structures and construction trailers off public streets — it does not name dumpsters, so keep the box off the street there too. Duncan §34-27(e) makes it a misdemeanor to obstruct a street so it is impassable and refuse to clear it. Wellford posts an encroachment permit application for work in City rights-of-way, with a $5,000 surety bond, but it is written for installations and does not mention dumpsters. Inman and Chesnee have no street-dumpster rule we could find, and Woodruff, Cowpens, Landrum and Reidville publish no online code we could find. In all of them, keep the box on the property.

Who may haul — and we hold ours

Spartanburg County Code §66-3(a) says "All private collectors collecting or transporting refuse within the county must obtain a collector's license from the county solid waste management division," and §66-3(b) says licensed collectors "must dispose of all refuse collected or transported at the county sanitary landfill" — the Wellford Landfill. §66-34(b) bars waste brought in from other counties without a special permit. §66-4 and §66-45(e) require loads to be covered and secured, and state law, S.C. Code §56-5-4100(B), wants loads kept 6 inches below the top of the walls or tarped. The County itself does not require a business license.

The City of Spartanburg does: City Code §10-1 requires a business license from everyone doing business within the city limits, and the encroachment form will not be processed without one. Lyman §16-20 requires a Town business license to collect waste from commercial locations; Greer, Landrum and Pacolet require general business licenses; and Duncan's Council accepts and approves applications to serve commercial customers (§42-21(b)(4)). We found no exclusive roll-off franchise anywhere we serve. Hub & Haul Dumpsters holds the licenses these places require — we hold ours.

What this means when you book

Tell us the address and where you want the box. A driveway is the simplest case almost everywhere we serve. A City of Spartanburg street spot takes the encroachment application, the bond and insurance, a traffic control plan and lights at night, so give yourself extra lead time. A state road takes SCDOT. In Greer without a building permit, keep the box out of the front setback. If your neighborhood has an HOA, check its rules on how long a container can sit in the driveway. Call (864) 310-7644, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.