Benton County, OR Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

BCC § 21.105(1) bans storing, collecting, maintaining or displaying solid waste on private property when it is offensive or hazardous to public health and safety, or creates offensive odors or a condition of unsightliness. 'Solid waste' is defined broadly under § 21.005(6) to include garbage, rubbish, paper and cardboard, ashes, demolition and construction wastes, discarded home and industrial appliances, manure, and dead animals, so the ban covers far more than typical household trash. Section 21.105(2) carves out three exceptions: land inside an incorporated city's limits, disposal sites the county has franchised or permitted, and agricultural operations, including growing or harvesting crops and raising fowl or animals.

A violation is declared a public nuisance, and the Health Administrator investigates complaints under § 21.110, reporting any finding of reasonable cause to the Board of Commissioners. The Board can order a public hearing under § 21.115, held 15 to 40 days after notice unless there is an immediate serious hazard, to determine whether a nuisance exists. If the Board declares a nuisance under § 21.120, the County Counsel institutes a Circuit Court proceeding under § 21.205, and the court can enjoin the violator to comply or empower the county to abate the nuisance by removing the dumped waste from the property, or by fencing or screening it where the waste is merely unsightly, under § 21.210.

All abatement costs the county incurs become a lien on the property under § 21.220, and the Board can order summary, immediate abatement under § 21.215 if public health or safety is in imminent danger.