Bellevue, WA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

030 lists the acts the Anti-Litter Code prohibits. Subsection A bars throwing or depositing litter on any street, sidewalk or other public place except in litter receptacles or official county transfer stations. Subsection B bars dumping litter on private property, whether the person owns it or not, though an owner may keep private receptacles if litter is contained so it will not blow onto other property. Subsection C and D extend the ban to parks and to any fountain, pond, lake, stream or bay. Subsection E and F prohibit throwing litter from a vehicle or driving a vehicle loaded so litter escapes onto a street or private property, and make the operator responsible for cleanup costs if litter falls and endangers travel.

Subsection G specifically targets construction sites: operators must store litter in containers when the site is not in active use and may not let mud, dirt or road materials be tracked onto streets or sidewalks, unless the site operates under an approved city clean-up program. Subsection H requires property owners and occupants to keep the adjacent sidewalk free of litter and bars sweeping litter into gutters or storm drains. 020(G) to include garbage, refuse, rubbish and animal excrement, plus any other waste that tends to create a public nuisance.

130 creates a presumption of responsibility: finding three or more pieces of illegally deposited litter identifiable to a person by name, address or other mark is enough to presume that person is responsible for the dumping.