St. Louis County, MN Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)

Ordinance No. 45, the county's Solid Waste Ordinance, spells out the unlawful acts behind most complaints the Environmental Services Department fields in unincorporated St. Louis County and its non-controlling townships. Article VI, Section 2 bars willfully turning over or upsetting any container used for Solid Waste, recyclables, or compost so its contents spill onto a roadway, waterway, or public or private property. Section 6, Storage of Waste, sets a hard numeric cap: no one without a state tire-collector or processor permit may accumulate more than 50 waste passenger tires (or the equivalent weight of other waste tires) on their premises, and Major Appliances may not be dumped in or on the land.

Section 9 makes scavenging its own offense: removing mixed Solid Waste, Recyclable Materials, scrap metal, appliances, tires, or Demolition Material from any Solid Waste Facility, or from a privately or publicly owned Solid Waste or Recycling container, without the express consent of the facility or container's operator is unlawful at any time, whether it happens at a county transfer site or at a neighbor's curb. 3 makes noncompliance with any of these sections a misdemeanor, with a separate offense deemed committed for each day a violation continues.