Gaithersburg, MD Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 18-4(a) bars dumping garbage or solid waste on another person's land, on public property or rights-of-way, or into a collector's container without the owner's or intended user's written consent or personal direction, and bars dumping on any public highway. The only exception lets clean fill go onto private property with the owner's written permission, provided it also complies with the city's sediment control and stormwater management requirements. Section 18-4(b) separately prohibits establishing, operating, or maintaining any solid waste acceptance facility within the city, or letting solid waste accumulate on a property, except as the chapter or a city council resolution allows.

Section 18-4(c) restricts composting: piles used to dispose of garbage must be completely rodent-proofed, though all-leaves-and-grass piles are exempt. Section 18-4(d) requires anyone hauling their own waste to a government-operated disposal facility to use a closed-body vehicle or one covered with securely fastened tarpaulin or canvas so material cannot spill in transit. Section 18-4(e) bars leaving a waste-hauling vehicle unattended on a public street or thoroughfare longer than needed to load or unload it.