Decatur, GA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 82-40(a) of the Decatur Code of Ordinances makes it unlawful to dump or cause to be dumped any refuse, including garbage, trash, litter, building material, motor vehicle parts or equipment, or recyclables like appliances, cans, bottles, newspapers or tree limbs, anywhere in the city without express city commission approval and under whatever terms the commission sets. Section 82-40(b) carves out a narrow exception for fill material such as sand, dirt, broken brick or pavement dumped on private property with the owner's permission to raise land elevation, provided the fill is leveled and covered with dirt rather than left in an unsightly condition.

Section 82-40(c), titled identification of party engaging in illegal dumping, creates an evidentiary shortcut for enforcement: if dumped material can be traced to having belonged to, or been in the possession of, a specific person, that fact is presumed to be prima facie evidence that the person dumped it. A related provision, Section 70-9, separately bars depositing human or animal excrement, garbage or objectionable waste on public or private property in an unsanitary manner, and Section 82-38(a) requires that any refuse being hauled through the city, including discarded building material or furniture, be secured against falling or blowing from the transport vehicle.