Beloit, WI Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code § 17.10
- First offense forfeiture
- $100 to $500 plus costs
- Default penalty
- Up to 90 days county jail
- Enforcement
- Citation by authorized City employee
- Applies to
- Streets, waterways, public grounds, receptacles
Summary
The City of Beloit bans dumping garbage, dead animals, refuse or recyclable material in streets, waterways, or public grounds, and bans dumping in private or City trash receptacles without the owner's consent. City Code § 17.10 covers all four scenarios. Violators face a citation and a forfeiture of $100 to $500 for a first offense under § 25.04(1)(a).
(1)No person shall deposit or cause to be deposited in or on any public street, water, or grounds, or in any other place, any dead animal, garbage, refuse, recyclable material, or any substance or material that will tend to contaminate or litter the area, or to create a strong odor or stench, or endanger public health. This section shall not apply to a sprinkling of clean sand or salt upon icy sidewalks, nor to the deposit on the person's own premises of refuse containers for collection. ... Any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter or any order, rule or regulation made hereunder, shall be subject to a penalty as provided in §25.04 of this Municipal Code. ... First Offense. Any person who shall violate any provision of this Code subject to a penalty shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit not less than $100 nor more than $500, together with the costs of prosecution ... but not exceeding 90 days.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Update 01 - 05-2026).
Full Breakdown
10, Dumping Prohibited, sets out four separate bans. Subsection (1) forbids depositing any dead animal, garbage, refuse, recyclable material, or any substance that contaminates, litters, smells, or endangers public health in a public street, water, or ground, though it exempts sand or salt spread on icy sidewalks and a resident's own curbside refuse containers. Subsection (2) bars dumping in a private dumpster, trash cart, can, or recycling container without the consent of the owner, agent, or authorized user. Subsection (3) applies the same ban to City-owned or leased dumpsters and receptacles, except for garbage generated by the normal use of a City building, park, or facility.
Subsection (4) bans dumping at a City waste site anything not designated as acceptable by the Public Works Director. 59(2). 04(1)(a): a first offense carries a forfeiture of not less than $100 nor more than $500 plus the costs of prosecution, and if the forfeiture and costs go unpaid the violator is confined in the county jail for up to 90 days. 04(1)(b) and (c) impose higher minimums and maximums for a second or third offense of the same provision within one year.
Violations & Fines
An authorized City employee can issue a citation on the spot for any § 17.10 violation, and the citation does not block the City from pursuing any other remedy. A first offense forfeits $100 to $500 plus prosecution costs under § 25.04(1)(a); repeat violations of the same subsection within a year draw higher minimums. Anyone who fails to pay a forfeiture and costs faces confinement in the county jail for up to 90 days in default.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I dump yard debris in a City park trash can in Beloit?
What happens if I don't pay an illegal dumping forfeiture in Beloit?
Does Beloit's dumping ban cover salting my own icy sidewalk?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Beloit
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Illegal Dumping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Rock County handle illegal dumping.