Alhambra, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 6.16.250(K)
- Penalty
- Fine or up to 6 months jail
- Continuing violation
- Each day is separate offense
- Enforcement
- Code Enforcement Officers, Police Dept.
- Legal authority
- Penal Code § 836.5
Summary
Alhambra Municipal Code § 6.16.250(K) makes it unlawful to dump, deposit, release, spill, leak, pour, bury or otherwise dispose of solid or liquid waste on any premises in the city outside an authorized container or permitted facility. The rule covers vacant lots, alleys and private yards alike, and the City Manager's Code Enforcement Officers and Police Department enforce it as a misdemeanor under the city's general penalty section.
(K) Unlawful dumping prohibited. No person shall dump, deposit, release, spill, leak, pump, pour, emit, empty, discharge, inject, bury or dispose into the environment (including by abandonment or discarding of barrels, containers and other closed receptacles of solid or liquid waste of any kind whatsoever) any solid or liquid waste upon any premises within the city, or to cause, suffer, or permit any solid or liquid waste to come to be located upon any premises in the city, except in an authorized or permitted solid waste container or at an authorized or permitted solid waste facility.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-25: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 4851, passed 10-27-25).
Full Breakdown
250 of the city's solid waste chapter lists prohibited acts for handling trash and waste, and subsection (K), "Unlawful dumping prohibited," is the broadest: no one may dump, deposit, release, spill, leak, pump, pour, emit, empty, discharge, inject, bury or dispose of solid or liquid waste into the environment on any premises in Alhambra, including by abandoning barrels, containers or other closed receptacles, except in an authorized or permitted solid waste container or facility. 250(F)). 4 covering littering and dumping on highways and waterways. 050: a fine set by City Council resolution, up to six months in jail, or both, with the City Attorney able to charge the offense as an infraction instead of a misdemeanor.
010 treats a continuing violation as a new offense each day, waste left on a property accrues a fresh violation daily until it is removed. Property owners who allow dumped waste to accumulate also risk a separate public-nuisance abatement action under the city's real property nuisance chapter.
Violations & Fines
Violating § 6.16.250(K) is punishable under §§ 1.12.010 through 1.12.050: a misdemeanor carrying a fine set by City Council resolution, up to six months in county jail, or both. The City Attorney may reduce the charge to an infraction. Each day dumped waste remains constitutes a separate offense, so unremoved material compounds the penalty. Code Enforcement Officers and police may issue citations, and the city can additionally pursue nuisance abatement and cost recovery against the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to dump trash on a vacant lot in Alhambra?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alhambra
California rules heatmap·Compare Alhambra to another location·View the California trash & recycling overview
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