Allentown, PA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 393-7 of the Neighborhood Improvement chapter bars dumping or depositing trash, debris, municipal waste, durable goods such as refrigerators, washers and dryers, small appliances, furniture, carpets, shopping carts, tires, vehicles and vehicle parts, automotive products, or construction and demolition material on any public or private property in the City, except through the authorized waste collection system in Chapter 525. A separate clause bans dumping household hazardous, hazardous or residual waste anywhere on public or private property. The chapter is enforced by police officers or other public officers authorized to issue citations, and a notice of violation can be served by handing it to the violator, leaving it with an adult at the residence, posting it at the property, or mailing it to the violator's address of record (§ 393-16).

Illegal dumping carries the steepest penalty in Chapter 393: a $1,000 or $5,000 fine for each offense, plus all direct and indirect costs the City incurs cleaning up and abating the dump site (§ 393-20A(5)). Unlike most other Neighborhood Improvement violations, a person cited for illegal dumping cannot simply admit the violation, waive a hearing and pay the ticket within 10 days; that option under § 393-20A(4) is expressly carved out for § 393-7. If the fine isn't paid or a hearing requested within 10 days, an additional penalty of $100 applies for days 11 through 20, and failure to resolve the ticket within 20 days exposes the violator to a citation (§ 393-20B). A minor age 10 or older can be cited directly, and parents who knowingly help a minor dump illegally are separately liable (§ 393-15).