Washington County, OR Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- WCC 8.20.030(A)(4) (Nuisance: waste accumulation)
- Abatement notice
- 15 days to abate after written notice
- Hearing window
- 5 days to request, board hears within 10
- Fine
- Up to $500; $1,000 for repeat within 2 yrs
- County cleanup cost
- Billed cost + 25% surcharge, then a lien
- Scope
- Unincorporated Washington County only
Summary
WCC 8.20.030(A)(4) declares it unlawful to maintain or allow an offensive or hazardous accumulation of solid waste, garbage, refuse, liquid waste, or demolition debris on your property: the county's core illegal-dumping nuisance rule. Violators face a health-department abatement order, and if they don't clean it up the county can do it for them and place a lien on the property.
It shall be unlawful for any owner or person in charge of property to maintain or allow to exist, the following things, practice, or conditions on his property, which are declared to be nuisances:...4.Accumulation, collection, storage or disposal of solid waste, waste, garbage, liquid waste, refuse, rubbish, sewage sludge, demolition materials or fill dirt, if any of the aforementioned materials are offensive or hazardous to the public health and safety. This section will not pertain to the accumulation, collection, storage or disposal of those materials authorized by county ordinance or state statute;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Community Development Code: Supplement 2 | Code of Ordinances: Supplement 25).
Full Breakdown
A designates a list of public-health nuisances, and subsection 4 covers illegal dumping directly: it is unlawful for 'any owner or person in charge of property to maintain or allow to exist' the 'accumulation, collection, storage or disposal of solid waste, waste, garbage, liquid waste, refuse, rubbish, sewage sludge, demolition materials or fill dirt' on their property when those materials are 'offensive or hazardous to the public health and safety,' unless the disposal is authorized by county ordinance or state statute. 100). 120). 160). 060) covers the franchised-disposal-site side of the same problem, requiring a franchise for hazardous or offensive waste storage on private property.
Violations & Fines
A WCC 8.20.030 dumping/accumulation nuisance is punishable by up to a $500 fine per WCC 8.20.210, with each day of continued violation a separate offense; a repeat offender convicted of the same violation within the prior two years faces up to $1,000. Beyond the fine, the county can bill the owner for its abatement costs plus a 25% surcharge and file a lien against the property if that bill goes unpaid.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly counts as illegal dumping under county code?
Do I get notice before the county acts?
What if I disagree with the abatement order?
What happens if I never clean it up?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washington County
Compare Washington County to another location·View the Oregon trash & recycling overview
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