Dothan, AL Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Dothan's littering ordinance, City Code § 82-111, is enforced under Article VII of Chapter 82, the same chapter that governs the city's landfill and residential garbage collection. Subsection (a) bars knowingly depositing litter on public or private property or in public or private waters without permission. Subsection (b) creates a rebuttable presumption: if bank statements, utility bills, bank card statements or other documents bearing a person's name turn up in an accumulation of dumped garbage or trash, the presumption is that the named person knowingly dumped it, though campaign or advertising material found in the pile does not count.

Before the city can prosecute on that presumption, subsection (c) requires a designee of the city commission to give the person written notice that their name was found and 15 days to present evidence rebutting it; only after that window, and only if the designee still finds the case warranted, may the city file criminal littering charges in Dothan Municipal Court. The ordinance is grounded in Ala. Code 1975 § 13A-7-29. Related sections in the same article back up enforcement: § 82-112 bars hauling loose sand, gravel, garbage or debris in uncovered trucks that scatter material on city streets, § 82-113 bars burning refuse on any street or right-of-way, and § 82-115 bars letting garbage or litter accumulate so it can blow or wash onto neighboring property, streets or drainage ditches.

Violations of the whole article, including illegal dumping, are punished under § 82-116, and each day a violation continues is charged as a separate misdemeanor offense.