Dearborn County, IN Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 50.02 of the Dearborn County Code is titled the Dumping Ordinance. It defines dumping as the discarding of garbage, used household goods, used appliances, automobile parts, trash, bags of trash or garbage, and other items commonly disposed of in sanitary landfills. Section 50.02(D)(1) makes it unlawful for any person, organization, corporation, or entity to dump at any location in the county unless that location is an approved landfill site. A separate prohibition in 50.02(D)(2) covers littering anywhere in Dearborn County, Indiana. The code defines littering as the occasional discarding of a single small item such as an aluminum can, cigarette butt, or cigarette package, and it stops at anything larger than one small trash can full.

Cleanup runs through the Sheriff and the Board of Commissioners. Anyone with knowledge of a dump gives notice to the Sheriff, who investigates the site and looks for items that identify the dumper by name. When a dumper is identified, the Board of Commissioners issues an order to remove and clean up the dumped items within a period of no less than 30 days. If the person ignores the order, the county can perform the cleanup with whatever resources are required and charge the cost to the individual, corporation, or entity tied to the site.

For a dumper who owns real property in the county, the cost can be certified to the County Auditor and Treasurer and placed against the owner's taxes as an additional assessment for dumping cleanup, payable in semi-annual installments in the same manner and subject to the same penalties as real property taxes. The county also keeps the right to seek an injunction or other relief in court to bar future dumping or to compel cleanup. Where a dump site holds information identifying more than one person, each one carries joint and individual responsibility for cleaning up the whole dumpsite, and the county can act against every one of them.

Chapter 50 is enforced by the County Health Officer. Under § 50.04 the Health Officer reports violations to the County Prosecuting Attorney, who must start proceedings and prosecute them to final termination. The county code applies in unincorporated Dearborn County; Lawrenceburg, Aurora, Greendale, and the other incorporated towns adopt their own rules.