Barrow County, GA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 78-38, part of the Debris and Waste Control Environmental Ordinance in chapter 78, article II of the Barrow County Code, is the county's core anti-dumping rule. Subsection (a) is a blanket prohibition: no person may dump or otherwise dispose of litter, any waste containing hazardous substances, or other refuse or unsightly matter on public or private land unless that specific property has been approved by the county or the state as a dumping site, which in practice means a permitted landfill or transfer facility, not a roadside or a neighbor's field.

Subsection (b) targets a narrower but common problem: putting household, industrial, commercial or mining waste into someone else's private dumpster, container or collection system without that owner's permission, something that shows up around apartment complexes and businesses whose dumpsters are visible from the road. Litter is defined broadly in section 78-32 to include sand, gravel, rubbish, garbage, trash, debris, dead animals and construction or demolition material, so the ban reaches far beyond household trash. Enforcement runs through section 78-35: code enforcement officers and other law enforcement officials can issue an immediate citation for dumping without any prior notice period, because dumping is treated differently from an ongoing maintenance violation, and the county can also seek injunctive relief to stop repeated dumping or a continuing nuisance.