Catawba County has run a drop-off site at 8876 Sherrills Ford Road since 1976. It only owned the land after buying it from Duke Energy Carolinas in December 2022. The upgrades that came after that purchase were celebrated with a ribbon cutting on September 22. They include a bigger site, a better entrance and exit, and brighter lighting for the roughly 100 residents who use the center each day. The center also accepts four new things: used motor oil and filters, antifreeze, and cooking oil.
That means a few items that used to require a drive to Newton can now stay on the lake side of the county. The bigger change, though, is in how the week works. The Sherrills Ford center is open Thursday through Sunday. Blackburn Landfill, which takes almost everything the center can't, is open weekdays and Saturday mornings. A fall cleanup in Sherrills Ford now depends on knowing which site is open on which day, and the Thanksgiving and Christmas closures shorten the center's week even further.
What moved to the lake side of the county
Until September, the county listed antifreeze at only two of its five convenience centers, Bethany Church Road and Rocky Ford Road, both in Newton. The county's item-by-item recycling page still says that. The county's September 22 announcement is newer, and WHKY's report the next day said the same thing: Sherrills Ford now takes motor oil and filters, antifreeze, and cooking oil.
The county's older guidance limited used motor oil and filters to household use, five gallons at a time at convenience centers. It also described cooking-oil recycling as free for Catawba County residents only. Those rules were written before Sherrills Ford started taking oil. Republic Services runs the centers under the county's franchise agreement, so call them at (828) 256-2158 to confirm the current limit before you bring out a full drain pan or a turkey fryer's worth of oil.
The rest of the center hasn't changed. Recycling is still free. That covers plastic bottles and containers, mixed paper and mail, flattened cardboard, cereal and pizza boxes, milk and juice cartons, aluminum and steel cans, and glass bottles and jars. Garbage has to be bagged and costs $2.00 a bag. A pickup with a bed of six feet or less costs $20.00, and a bed up to eight feet costs $30.00. An attendant on site helps you sort your load and tells you the price.
The week, split between two sites
Here is how the county lists the hours for both sites:
| Day | Sherrills Ford Convenience Center | Blackburn Landfill, 4017 Rocky Ford Rd, Newton |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Closed | 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Closed | 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. |
| Thursday | 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. |
| Friday | 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. |
| Sunday | 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Closed |
The table shows the problem. If something has to go to the landfill, you need a weekday or a Saturday morning, because Blackburn stops taking anything by midday Saturday. The Sherrills Ford center covers Saturday afternoon and all of Sunday. Mondays through Wednesdays, the only option is Newton.
Even the landfill's hours aren't consistent across county documents. The landfill page lists weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., but the FY 2026/27 fee schedule gives a 7:00 a.m. opening. The electronics recycling area lists weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If your trip depends on the first or last half hour of the day, call the landfill at (704) 462-1348 first.
What still rides to Newton
These items still need a weekday or Saturday-morning trip:
- Appliances and scrap metal. Accepted free only at Blackburn Landfill and the Rocky Ford Road Convenience Center at 3864 Rocky Ford Rd. Refrigerators must be empty with the doors removed. The Rocky Ford center is open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., which helps if you can't make it before the landfill closes.
- Paint. Household liquid paint is free at Blackburn, up to 10 gallons per visit. Spray cans aren't included.
- Electronics and household batteries. Both are free year-round at Blackburn. Lithium batteries go in their own bin, and any with exposed terminals need clear tape over them. Car batteries go to participating auto parts stores.
- Tires. Residents can drop off up to five tires a year for free.
- Leaves, grass and brush. The FY 2026/27 schedule charges $5.00 per load for loose household leaves and grass, and $23.00 per ton for brush and limbs. Brush has to be cut to no more than 8 feet long or 14 inches across, and kept separate from roots and stumps. The county's 2025 guide says leaves and grass are free, so if that matters for your load, ask when you arrive.
The leaf trip pays you back a little. Blackburn grinds brush into mulch and mixes leaves and grass into compost. Compost costs $10.00 per 3-yard scoop. The price of mulch depends on which county page you read. The landfill page and the FY 2026/27 fee schedule list it at no charge, while the recycling page still says $5.00 a scoop. You can drop off a truckload of leaves in November and pick up compost for spring beds on the same visit.
November 7 is the one day for everything else
Plenty of household items aren't accepted at either Sherrills Ford or the everyday landfill. Catawba County's fall household hazardous waste collection covers them. It runs Saturday, November 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at LP Frans Stadium, 2500 Clement Blvd NW in Hickory. It's free for Catawba County residents, and trailers aren't allowed.
The accepted list is long. It includes cleaners, oil-based paints and stains, pesticides, pool chemicals, kerosene, brake fluid, lead-acid batteries, fluorescent tubes, mercury thermometers, and clean Styrofoam and packaging foam. The Catawba County Sheriff's Office will take unwanted medications, but not sharps or needles. The county says fluorescent tubes are handled at these one-day events, and only compact bulbs can go to participating Home Depot and Lowe's stores.
The event won't take tires, household garbage, lawn mowers, weed eaters, appliances, or TVs with broken screens. The only gas cylinders it accepts are grill propane tanks. The county also warns of long waits. If you drop off the routine items at Sherrills Ford the weekend before, your Hickory load is just the things that can't go anywhere else.
The holiday weeks cut the center's week shorter
All five convenience centers close on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26, and on Christmas, Friday, December 25. Both dates fall on Sherrills Ford's open days, and the center also closes at 3:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Here's what that leaves:
- Thanksgiving week: open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 27 through 29. That's three days.
- Christmas week: open Thursday, December 24, until 3:00 p.m., closed Friday, then open Saturday and Sunday, December 26 and 27.
- Blackburn Landfill: closed November 26, December 24 at noon, and December 25.
If Sherrills Ford is closed, the next closest center is the Oxford Convenience Center at 4637 Lookout Dam Rd in Catawba. It's open Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., which gives you a Wednesday that Sherrills Ford doesn't. It also closes at 3:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
Trees make their own trip. A Very Murray Christmas at Murray's Mill Historic District runs Saturday, November 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It has tree sales, a holiday market, wagon rides and Santa, and parking is $5. Once the holidays are over, real trees with all ornaments, lights and tinsel removed can go to any of the five centers after Christmas. At Sherrills Ford, the first chance is Saturday, December 26.
Curbside, for anyone done with the drive
Unincorporated Catawba County can get curbside service through the county's exclusive franchise with Republic Services. Garbage is picked up weekly and recycling every other week. The monthly rate is $23.35 if you recycle and $30.72 if you don't, carts included, and an extra cart costs $1.50 a month. Curbside customers who want a tree picked up after Christmas should call Republic at (828) 256-2158. The county's Waste Reduction office at (828) 465-8217 handles other questions.
Even with curbside service, the oil, the paint, the old refrigerator and the November 7 load still have to be dropped off somewhere. The days each site is open decide when you can make those trips.
At Southern Charm Realty & Retreats, we deal with the practical side of owning on the Sherrills Ford side of Lake Norman all the time, from a full-time household's fall cleanup to the trash plan for a lake home that hosts guests between Thursday and Sunday. If you're setting up a second home or rental here and want the logistics sorted before your first season, schedule a Lake Norman Consult, by car or by boat.
