Columbia County, FL Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Columbia County Code Chapter 90, Article V, 'Refuse Control,' makes it unlawful under section 90-191(a) for any person, firm, or corporation to deposit, place, or dump garbage, trash, or refuse of any kind on public or private property in the unincorporated county, except in county-owned refuse containers or at the county-owned landfill site. Residents served by a private garbage collection service may still use the containers that service provides and approves. Section 90-191(b) carves out a narrow exception allowing a property owner to bury nonhazardous garbage, trash, or refuse on their own land, or to pile tree limbs, stumps, leaves, or old fence wire on property they own, without that counting as unlawful dumping.

Section 90-192 separately bans 'dumpster diving': physically entering, remaining inside, or digging into or removing garbage, trash, or refuse from any county-owned refuse container is unlawful regardless of intent. Section 90-193 lists specific items participants cannot place in county-owned refuse containers, including dead or live animals, bed springs and mattresses, major appliances, tires, tree limbs, furniture, scrap metal, and vehicle parts, though an exception opens most of that list for containers of 20 cubic yards or larger. Section 90-195 backs the whole article with a criminal penalty: any violation is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in section 1-10 of the Columbia County Code.