Bethlehem, PA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

07(a), Placement of Containers, contains Bethlehem's core illegal-dumping prohibition: no owner, lessee, tenant, householder or any other person may deposit, throw, place or cause to be deposited, thrown or placed any solid waste on any street, private alley or vacant lot, public areas and waterways, both natural and man-made, within the city limits. The prohibition covers Bethlehem's entire corporate area, spanning both its Northampton and Lehigh County sections, and applies regardless of whether the dumper owns the affected land. 99, Penalties and Enforcement, sets the citywide penalty ladder for this and every other Article 1162 violation: $200 or up to 30 days imprisonment (or both) for a first violation, $500 or up to 60 days for a second, and $1,000 or up to 90 days for a third or later violation, and subsection (b) makes each continuing day of the violation a separate offense, so an uncleared dumping site can generate escalating daily fines.

Subsection (c) authorizes the Director of Community and Economic Development to designate the officers empowered to enforce the Article and issue citations, which in practice includes Bureau of Health and code-enforcement staff. 10.