Erie, PA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Erie treats illegal dumping aggressively because Lake Erie's watershed flows directly into Presque Isle Bay and the Allegheny Coast/Lake Erie MS4 stormwater system - dumped materials migrate quickly into the state's only Great Lakes coastline and into PA DEP's impaired-waters monitoring. The primary criminal authority is 18 Pa.C.S. §6501 (Scattering Rubbish), which makes it a summary offense to deposit any waste paper, sweepings, ashes, household waste, glass, metal, refuse, or rubbish onto any road, street, highway, alley, railroad right-of-way, the land of another, or waters of the Commonwealth, and a separate offense to interfere with, scatter, or disturb the contents of receptacles. First-offense penalty: a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $300, plus 5-30 hours of mandatory litter or illegally-dumped-trash pickup completed within six months, or up to 90 days imprisonment. Second and subsequent offenses are third-degree misdemeanors with fines of $300-$1,000 and 30-100 hours of mandatory cleanup completed within one year. Locally, Article 1129's Quality of Life Ticketing Program (effective October 17, 2018; per-ticket fee raised from $25 to $100 effective June 6, 2023) handles the lower-tier illegal-dumping conduct (bags set out outside the 24-hour window, items left at the curb without bulk-pickup confirmation numbers, debris on vacant lots). For larger-scale or commercial dumping the City refers to PA DEP under the Solid Waste Management Act (35 P.S. §6018.101 et seq.), which authorizes administrative orders and civil penalties up to $25,000 per day plus criminal prosecution. The Erie Bureau of Police, Bureau of Code Enforcement, and PA DEP Northwest Regional Office (out of Meadville) all have enforcement authority within the City.