Chatham County, NC Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

04(F) bars sweeping, throwing, depositing or dumping litter, solid waste or recyclables into or along any drain, gutter, street, sidewalk, alley, vacant or occupied lot, or any public or private lake, pond, creek, river, stream, ditch, swamp or marsh, or on any public or private premises countywide. Property owners, occupants, tenants and lessees who permit litter to accumulate on their land are jointly liable, and prime contractors on a construction site must control litter generated by the work. § 14-4, by up to 30 days in jail or a $500 fine, with each day of violation a separate offense.

§ 153A-123: $50 for littering, $30 for a residential or backyard dumping violation, $75 for an out-of-county offender using county facilities, $100 for a commercial or industrial violation, and $100 for any repeat offender. Unpaid civil penalties can be pursued as a civil debt, and abatement costs the county incurs cleaning up a dump site become a lien filed with the Tax Administrator, collected like ad valorem taxes and bearing interest until paid. All recovered penalties are paid into the county's School Fund. § 153A-123(d) and (e). The ordinance was adopted December 6, 1993.