Jefferson County, TX Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing sections
- Appendix 7 § 11.2 (RV Parks); Appendix 8 § 5.8 (MHRC)
- Adopted
- May 23, 2023 by Commissioners Court resolution
- Collection frequency
- At least once weekly, mandatory
- Placement ban
- No dumpster in ROW, floodway, or drainage easement
- Review authority
- County Engineer / Environmental Control via IDP
- Penalty
- Class B misdemeanor, fine and/or imprisonment
Summary
Jefferson County requires every Recreational Vehicle Park and Manufactured Home Rental Community built outside city limits to show dumpster locations on its Preliminary Site Plan and Construction Plans and bars placing any dumpster or community trash container in a road right-of-way, floodway, or drainage easement. Weekly hauler service is mandatory, adopted by Commissioners Court resolution May 23, 2023.
The Development shall be served by a public or commercial waste collection and disposal service that collects all trash and rubbish at least once weekly. It shall be a condition of occupancy that all tenants agree to be served by such service. ... Locations of dumpsters or other community trash containers on the site shall be shown on the Preliminary Site plan and the Construction plans. No dumpster or other community trash container shall be placed in any road ROW, floodway or drainage easement.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
2 (Trash and Waste Collection and Disposal) governs dumpster and community trash-container placement at Recreational Vehicle Parks built in the unincorporated county. 8 imposes the identical standard on Manufactured Home Rental Communities. 007 and Health and Safety Code Chapters 341 and 343. The rule requires the operator to identify dumpster and community trash container locations on the Preliminary Site Plan and again on the Construction Plans submitted to the County Engineer as part of the Infrastructure Development Plan (IDP) review. 315 in this flood-prone Gulf Coast county.
The development must also be served by a public or commercial waste hauler that collects trash and rubbish at least once weekly, and every tenant's occupancy is conditioned on using that service. If container capacity cannot handle all the waste generated, the operator must add collection frequency or containers rather than let refuse accumulate, and burning garbage outside the authorized containers is prohibited outright, though segregated recyclables stored sanitarily are excluded from that ban. The County Engineer and Environmental Control review the IDP within 60 days of submission under Appendix 8 § 7(b); an unanswered application is deemed approved. 8 is also a plat-note and construction-plan compliance failure enforceable through the Regulations' general remedies.
Violations & Fines
Knowingly or intentionally violating any requirement of the Regulations, including the dumpster-placement and weekly-collection standards, is a Class B misdemeanor under § 13.1, punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both. Under § 13.2 the Commissioners Court can direct the County Attorney with felony jurisdiction to sue to enjoin the violation or to recover the county's cost of bringing the site into compliance, and the County Engineer can withhold IDP or construction-plan approval until dumpster locations are corrected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put a dumpster in the drainage easement at my RV park?
How often must an RV park's trash be collected?
What happens if the dumpster is too small for the park?
Does this rule apply inside Beaumont or Port Arthur?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Jefferson County
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Jefferson County to another location·View the Texas trash & recycling overview
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