Duluth, MN Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Duluth Legislative Code § 24-5
- Banned materials
- Solid waste, manure, tires, used oil, batteries
- Covered locations
- Streets, alleys, waterways, public/private premises
- Enforcement
- Solid waste compliance officer, § 24-8
- Maximum fine
- $1,000 per day, § 1-7
- Evidence rule
- Accumulation on property presumed owner's, § 24-6
Summary
Duluth Legislative Code § 24-5 bans dumping solid waste, manure, household hazardous waste, tires, used motor oil, lead-acid batteries, yard waste or infectious waste on any street, alley, waterway or public or private premises. The solid waste compliance officer enforces the ban, and violators face the city's general penalty of up to $1,000 per day.
No person shall dump, throw or in any manner deposit or cause to be dumped, thrown or deposited upon or in any street, highway, alley, waterway or public or private premises, except as provided in this Chapter, any solid waste, manure, household hazardous waste, tires, used motor oil, lead acid batteries, yard waste, pathological waste or infectious waste.
Full Breakdown
" The ban reaches public property and private property alike, including a neighbor's land, and it names the specific waste streams, tires, batteries, used oil and infectious or pathological waste, that the city treats as the most common illegal-dumping problem rather than leaving them to a generic "solid waste" catch-all. " The solid waste compliance officer, created by § 24-8, has "control over the making of all collections and removals of the materials and substances specified in this Chapter" and is charged with enforcing Chapter 24, including investigating complaints.
Chapter 24 does not print its own fine for a § 24-5 violation, so it falls to the citywide general penalty in § 1-7: a fine of not more than $1,000, with every day a violation continues counted as a separate offense, meaning uncleared dumped material accrues additional exposure daily until it is removed.
Violations & Fines
A § 24-5 dumping violation is enforced by the solid waste compliance officer and carries Duluth Legislative Code § 1-7's general penalty: a fine of not more than $1,000. Because "every day any violation... shall continue" counts as "a separate offense" under § 1-7, an uncleaned dump site can generate a new violation, and a new potential fine, for each day it remains.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is dumping trash on vacant land illegal in Duluth?
How much is the fine for illegal dumping in Duluth?
Who investigates illegal dumping complaints in Duluth?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Duluth
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