Bristol Township, PA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Two chapters of the Bristol Township Code reach dumping. Chapter 126, the Bristol Township Anti-Littering Ordinance, provides in § 126-2 that no person, firm or corporation shall throw, cause to be thrown or aid or abet in the throwing upon any street or other public place or upon the land of another any garbage, wastepaper, bottles, metal, sweepings, ashes, tin cans, nails, discarded or soiled personal property or trash and rubbish of any kind. It also bars anyone from interfering with, scattering or disturbing the contents of a receptacle of garbage, ashes, household waste or rubbish placed on a sidewalk or elsewhere for collection. The same section makes owners, landlords, property maintenance companies and tenants jointly and severally responsible for keeping commercial and residential properties clear of trash and debris, so a landlord cannot point to a tenant alone.

Chapter 170 covers the larger acts. Section 170-18(D) makes it unlawful for any person to use, maintain or operate an open dump, and § 170-18(F) repeats the throwing prohibition for streets, public places and the land of another. Section 170-13(B) forbids any owner or occupier from permitting municipal waste to accumulate for longer than seven days. Refuse must also be stored in metal containers with tightly fitting covers under § 126-3, and storing refuse outside a building in anything else is itself a violation.

Accumulated junk on a lot is a nuisance too. Section 134-2(M) lists unsightly or malodorous accumulations of junk, garbage, scrap metal, scrap lumber, used tires, discarded building material, appliances and similar items on public or private property, unless the property is in lawful use for junk storage or recycling. Under § 134-5 the Managing Director's notice must give not less than 10 days to abate or to request a hearing, and § 134-8 lets the Township abate the nuisance after a District Justice finding and charge all costs plus a penalty of 10%.

Enforcement of Chapter 170 sits with the Managing Director, the Managing Director's designee and sworn Bristol Township police officers under § 170-20.