Fairfield, CT Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Fairfield's Littering chapter, Chapter 72, governs illegal dumping in the Town. Section 72-1 prohibits throwing or depositing litter in or upon any street, sidewalk or other public place, except in public receptacles, authorized private receptacles for collection, or the official Town dump. Section 72-2 requires anyone using a receptacle to place litter so it cannot blow or spill onto a street or private property. Sections 72-3 and 72-4 extend responsibility to property and business owners, who must keep the sidewalk in front of their premises free of litter and may not sweep accumulated litter into a gutter or street.

Section 72-5 separately bars throwing or depositing litter from a moving vehicle onto any street or private property, and § 72-6 requires trucks and other vehicles to be constructed or loaded so that no load, contents or litter blows or falls onto a street or public place. Sections 72-7A and B add a specific dumping-adjacent rule for constructions loads: no vehicle may transport dust-producing substances, sand, loam, gravel or dirt over Town streets unless loaded or covered to prevent spillage or dust, with violators fined not more than $25 per offense under § 72-7D, each violation a separate offense.

Chapter 72 also covers commercial and noncommercial handbill dumping onto vehicles under § 72-9, added in 1993. The chapter's general penalty, § 72-10, fines any violation of the chapter, unless a section states otherwise, $75 and additionally makes the violator responsible for retrieving and properly disposing of any handbills that fell off or were discarded from a vehicle.