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

Section 32-164 of the Craven County Code, in Chapter 32's litter and solid waste control article adopted September 2, 1991, bans sweeping, throwing, or depositing litter or solid waste into or along any drain, gutter, street, sidewalk, alley, vacant or occupied lot, parking lot, embankment, or any public or private lake, pond, creek, river, stream, ditch, or marsh in the county, whether or not that water is navigable. The same section separately bars property owners, occupants, tenants, and lessees from letting litter or solid waste accumulate on their land, vacant lots, borders, or fences, and requires construction site owners and prime contractors to control debris their projects generate.

Drivers face their own duty under § 32-164(4): any litter, garbage, or solid waste hauled loose must be secured against blowing or falling out, and anything that does escape must be recovered immediately and the area cleaned. Section 32-166 backs enforcement with a presumption: when litter turns up on a property, the owner, occupant, or person in charge is presumed to have deposited it or consented to it, and when material falls from a vehicle, the vehicle's operator is presumed responsible. The clean sweep coordinator and the county's health, planning, solid waste, and law enforcement agencies share enforcement duties under § 32-167, and abatement costs the county incurs become a lien against the property, filed with the tax administrator and collected like delinquent ad valorem taxes, with interest until paid.