Clay County, FL Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 10-1 defines litter broadly to include garbage, refuse, containers, tires, appliances, construction material, machinery, vehicles, and treatment-plant sludge, and it is unlawful for any person to dump litter in any amount on a public highway, road, street, alley, right-of-way, or other public land except in a lawfully provided container; on any freshwater lake, river, stream, or tidal or coastal water; or on private property without the owner's prior consent, unless the litter creates no public nuisance and violates no other law. When litter is thrown or discarded from a moving car, the driver is automatically in violation, and so is the vehicle owner if riding along at the time; the same rule applies to boat operators and owners on the water.

The ordinance also reaches vacant land: an owner, lessee, or custodian of a yard, open area, or vacant lot cannot let it become littered so that trash is visible from the street or from a neighboring property in a way that creates a public nuisance. 413(6), Florida Statutes, by issuing a notice to appear rather than requiring an arrest. In a prosecution, evidence that the dumped litter belonged to the defendant creates a rebuttable presumption, provable by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant did the dumping, which shifts the practical burden onto the accused to explain how their property ended up at the dump site.