Loudoun County, VA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Codified Ordinances § 1080.04(b)(4)-(5)
- Enforcing agency
- Office of Solid Waste Management Director
- Max criminal penalty
- $2,500 fine / 12 months, or both
- Offense count
- Each day is a separate offense
- Civil remedy
- Injunction, mandamus or abatement
- Coverage
- Unincorporated Loudoun County
Summary
Loudoun County bans open dumping outright: no person may dispose of solid waste in an open dump, and no owner may cause, suffer, allow or permit open dumping on property they control. The Office of Solid Waste Management enforces this countywide in the unincorporated area, and a conviction is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
No person may dispose of solid waste in open dumps... Open dumping is prohibited in Loudoun County. No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit open dumping on his or her property. "Open dump" means a non-permitted site on which any solid waste is placed, discharged, deposited, injected, dumped or spilled so as to create a nuisance or potential hazard to human health or the environment... an open dump is a nuisance, as defined in Section 648.03(g).
Full Breakdown
04(b)(4)-(5)). 02(62) as a non-permitted site where solid waste is placed, discharged, deposited, injected, dumped or spilled so as to create a nuisance or potential hazard to health or the environment, or any permitted site that falls out of compliance with Chapter 1080. 03(g), which treats an open dump as a nuisance in its own right, giving the County a second enforcement track through the nuisance code. 99(a) makes conviction under the chapter grounds for permit revocation. " That gives the County a civil path to force cleanup even where criminal charges are slow or contested. 99, which applies to any Codified Ordinances violation lacking a dedicated penalty clause.
Violations & Fines
Under § 202.99, whoever violates § 1080.04's open-dumping ban "is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or imprisoned not more than twelve months, or both, plus costs of prosecution, for each offense." A separate offense is committed each day the dumping or noncompliance continues, and the fine stacks on top of any injunction, abatement order, or permit revocation the Director pursues under §§ 1080.27 and 1080.99(a).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is dumping trash on my own land in Loudoun County legal?
What can happen if I'm convicted of illegal dumping here?
Can the County force me to clean up a dump site instead of just fining me?
Does an open dump count as a nuisance too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Loudoun County
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