Elko County, NV Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 10-10-12 lists the places that are off limits: any public or private property, parcel of land, lot, street, highway, gutter, alley, body of water, stream, canal or ditch. The only lawful destination is an appropriate waste disposal site operated or authorized by the County or by an unincorporated town within the County. The ban also reaches anyone who causes the dumping to be done, not only the person who physically does it.

Section 10-10-10 defines the materials. Garbage covers kitchen and table refuse, offal, swill and animal or vegetable accumulations, and the carcass or remains of any dead animal. Rubbish covers wood, leaves, dead trees, branches, sawdust, paper, boxes, rags, rubber tires, plastic and other combustible matter. Waste material covers soil, sand, clay, gravel, manure, stones, building material, bricks, plaster, cement, glass, ashes and metals. Sewage includes sludge and cesspool, septic or holding tank effluent. Section 10-10-11 declares any of this material, or an abandoned vehicle, on a public or private highway, street, alley, road, lot or parcel a public nuisance.

Section 10-10-13 supplies a proof shortcut. When an unlawful deposit includes evidence that identifies a person, firm or corporation, that identification creates a presumption in a civil action or criminal prosecution that the identified party is responsible, and that party is also liable for the cost of removal and disposition on top of the penalty. Property owners carry their own duty under 10-10-16 to keep premises free of garbage, rubbish and waste material, and 10-10-15 bars driving a truck or other vehicle that is not loaded so as to prevent the load from being blown or deposited on any street, alley or other place.

The lawful alternative is the landfill. The fee schedule in 10-11-1 for the Spring Creek Sanitary Landfill lists $2.50 for a car or pickup and a residential rate pass at $62.00 per year.