Bristol, CT Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited locations
- Streets, sidewalks, public places, vacant lots
- Fine
- $90 per violation (Sec. 10-58)
- Continuing violation
- Each day counted separately
- Enforcement
- Civil citation process (Sec. 10-59)
- Vacant-lot notice
- Registered mail to owner (Sec. 10-57)
- Unpaid removal cost
- 10% annual interest charge
Summary
Bristol bans dumping litter on any street, sidewalk, public place, or vacant private lot under Sec. 10-42 and Sec. 10-56 of the Code of Ordinances. Sec. 10-58 backs the ban with a ninety-dollar fine per violation, with every day a violation continues counted as a separate offense.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in or upon any street, sidewalk or other public place within the city except in public receptacles, in authorized private receptacles for collection or in the official city landfills. ... No person shall throw or deposit litter ... on any open or vacant private property within the city, whether owned by such person or not. ... In accordance with sections 1-11, 4-3 and 23-2 of City Ordinances, any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be fined ninety dollars ($90.00) for each such violation. Each such occurrence of a violation and each day such violation is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate violation and shall be subject to a separate penalty.
Full Breakdown
Article III of Chapter 10 defines litter broadly in Sec. 10-41 to cover discarded bottles, cans, garbage, construction material, and yard waste that has not been placed in a proper receptacle, then bans depositing it across a wide set of locations. Sec. 10-42 prohibits throwing or depositing litter on any street, sidewalk, or public place except into public receptacles, authorized private receptacles, or the official city landfill, and Sec. 10-56 extends that same prohibition to any open or vacant private property, whether or not the person dumping owns it.
Related sections fill out the article: Sec. 10-46 bars tossing litter from a vehicle, Sec. 10-49 bars dumping into any fountain, pond, lake, river, or stream, and Sec. 10-57 lets city personnel or the Bristol-Burlington Health District notify an owner by registered mail to clear litter from vacant property, then bill the owner, with ten percent annual interest, if the city ends up removing it. Sec. 10-58 sets the penalty at ninety dollars for each violation and makes every day a violation continues a separate, separately fined offense, citing sections 1-11, 4-3, and 23-2 of the Code as the enforcement authority.
Sec. 10-59 lets the city pursue that penalty through the civil citation process rather than only criminal court, meaning a citation officer under Sec. 23-1 can issue the ticket directly on the vacant lot or roadside where the dumping happened.
Violations & Fines
Dumping litter on a street, sidewalk, public place, or vacant lot violates Sec. 10-42 or Sec. 10-56, and Sec. 10-58 fines each violation ninety dollars, with every day the litter remains counted as its own separate offense. The city enforces the article through the civil citation process under Sec. 10-59, and an owner who ignores a Sec. 10-57 notice to clear litter from vacant property gets billed for the city's removal cost plus ten percent annual interest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is dumping trash on a vacant lot illegal in Bristol?
What counts as litter under Bristol's ordinance?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bristol
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