Fort Myers, FL Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum penalty
- $500 per offense
- Continuing violation
- Each day a separate offense
- Enforcing office
- Stormwater utility director
- Covers
- Land, storm drains, water bodies
Summary
Fort Myers bans dumping, throwing, or scattering litter, debris, trash, or hazardous material on any land, stormwater system, or water body within city limits, backed by a stormwater-director-assessed fine.
The accumulation, placing, sweeping, scattering, throwing, or dumping of litter, or littering material, such as dead plants, yard clippings, stagnant water, rubbish, debris, trash, refuse, including any wrecked derelict or partially dismantled motor vehicles, trailers, boats, machinery, appliances, furniture or similar articles, or any unsanitary, hazardous or significant material or other noxious matter, upon any surface area, stormwater management system or water body within the city is hereby prohibited.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 60).
Full Breakdown
Section 90-290 of the Fort Myers Code, part of Chapter 90's stormwater management article, prohibits accumulating, placing, sweeping, scattering, throwing, or dumping litter or littering material, dead plants, yard clippings, stagnant water, rubbish, debris, trash, derelict vehicles, appliances, furniture, or hazardous matter, onto any surface area, stormwater management system, or water body within the city. It sits alongside a companion ban on illicit discharges to storm drains (Sec. 90-284). Under Sec. 90-296, the stormwater utility director may assess a minimum $500 penalty per offense, with each day of a continuing violation treated as a separate offense.
Violations & Fines
Minimum $500 fine per offense under Sec. 90-296; each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense, and the violator bears all cleanup, remediation, and enforcement costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is dumping trash illegal in Fort Myers?
Who enforces Fort Myers's dumping ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fort Myers
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Illegal Dumping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Lee County handle illegal dumping.