Catoosa County, GA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Catoosa County has not adopted a general public-place smoking ordinance covering parks, patios or other outdoor gathering spots; the code's sole smoking restriction is tucked into the general rules for the county's solid waste management facilities, Sec. 66-41(d). That subsection states plainly that smoking and alcohol consumption is prohibited at the county solid waste management facilities except where expressly permitted. The same list of facility rules bars anyone under 18 from entering the facility inside a waste collection or disposal vehicle, prohibits loitering on and about the grounds, and requires everyone using the site to operate their vehicles safely and to keep loads of solid waste and roll-off boxes covered with tarpaulins to prevent litter.

The rule sits alongside other facility-specific protections in Sec. 66-41, including the county's reservation of the right to inspect any load, to bar liquid or hazardous waste outright, and to require a manifest for loads whose origin is in question. Because these are facility operating rules rather than a stand-alone ordinance, enforcement runs through the same channel as other Chapter 66 violations: Sec. 66-42 lets the county solid waste management department suspend a violator's disposal privileges, starting with a warning and escalating to a one-week and then a three-week suspension, while Sec. 66-43 makes any violation of the article a misdemeanor prosecuted under the county's general penalty section, Sec. 1-19.