Cleveland, OH Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Commercial-vehicle dumping fine
- $1,000 + 60 days-6 months jail
- Other-vehicle dumping fine
- $500-$1,000, up to 6 months jail
- Cleanup notice period
- 5 days to remove waste
- Suspension of penalty
- Not permitted, § 551.99(g)
- Informant reward
- 1/2 of fine collected, § 551.262
Summary
Dumping solid or industrial waste by vehicle on any unlicensed public or private property is banned under Codified Ordinances § 551.26, and Cleveland treats it as a criminal offense, not just a fine: dumping from a commercial car, trailer or truck carries a mandatory $1,000 fine plus 60 days to 6 months in jail, while dumping from any other vehicle draws a $500-$1,000 fine and up to 6 months.
(b) No person shall dump or otherwise dispose of solid waste or industrial waste by commercial car, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer or truck on any public or private property not licensed as a solid waste disposal facility pursuant to this chapter... (c) No person shall dump or otherwise dispose of solid waste or industrial waste by any vehicle other than a commercial car, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer or truck on any public or private property or place not licensed as a solid waste disposal facility pursuant to this chapter... Whoever violates any provision of division (b) of Section 551.26 shall be fined one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and shall be imprisoned for not less than sixty (60) days and not more than six (6) months. Whoever violates any provision of division (c) of Section 551.26 shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisoned for not more than six (6) months, or both.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-28: Current through legislation passed September 1, 2026).
Full Breakdown
26 splits illegal dumping into two divisions by vehicle type. 29. An owner who lets someone else use the vehicle for that purpose, knowing or having reason to know through due diligence that it will be so used, is separately guilty. Division (c) applies the identical prohibition to dumping by any other kind of vehicle. The City treats the dumped material as a public nuisance under division (d): the Director of Public Service can send the violator written notice to remove it within five days, and if that deadline passes, the Director may remove the waste and the Law Department can sue to collect the removal cost from the violator.
99(g). A division (c) violation by any other vehicle is fined between $500 and $1,000 or up to six months in jail, or both. 262 lets the Director of Public Service pay whistleblowers a reward equal to half of any fine actually collected from a conviction under division (b) or (c), on a claim filed with the Director.
Violations & Fines
A division (b) conviction (dumping via commercial vehicle) is fined $1,000 with a mandatory 60-day-to-6-month jail term that cannot be suspended or reduced under § 551.99(g). A division (c) conviction (any other vehicle) is fined $500-$1,000, up to 6 months in jail, or both. The violator also owes the City's cleanup costs, and informants can collect half of any fine paid under § 551.262.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cleveland
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Illegal Dumping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Cuyahoga County handle illegal dumping.