Gilroy, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- On another's land
- Unlawful under § 12.4
- On streets/public grounds
- Unlawful under § 12.5
- First offense
- Infraction up to $100
- Repeat offense
- Misdemeanor up to $1,000, 6 months jail
- Right of entry
- Health officer, fire chief, peace officer (§ 12.2)
Summary
Dumping garbage, refuse, or junk on someone else's property, or on any street, alley, or public ground in Gilroy, is unlawful under City Code §§ 12.4 and 12.5. Violations are punished under the Code's general penalty ladder, from a $100 first-offense infraction up to a $1,000 misdemeanor with jail time.
§ 1.7. General penalty; continuing violations. ... (a) For a first violation, the violator shall be charged with an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00). (b) For a second violation within one year, the violator shall be charged with an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.00). (c) For a third violation within one year, the violator shall be charged with an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00). (d) For each additional violation, the violator shall be charged with a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six (6) months, or by both. ... § 12.4. Dumping garbage, etc., on another’s premises. It shall be unlawful for any person to trespass or go upon the land or property of any other person for the purpose of dumping, or to dump upon the land or property of any other person, any garbage, refuse, junk or any waste or discarded matter of any kind. ... § 12.5. Depositing garbage, etc., on streets, alleys and public grounds. It shall be unlawful for any person to place, throw, deposit, dump or stand any paper, cans, bottles, broken glass, ash tray accumulations, refuse, trash, rubbish or garbage in or upon any public or private alley or street or public grounds within the city ...
Full Breakdown
Gilroy bans illegal dumping in two separate sections. Section 12.4 makes it unlawful for anyone to trespass onto another person's land for the purpose of dumping, or to dump 'garbage, refuse, junk or any waste or discarded matter of any kind' on that land, regardless of whether the dumper had permission to be there for any other purpose. Section 12.5 covers public space: it is unlawful to place, throw, deposit, dump, or stand paper, cans, bottles, refuse, trash, rubbish, or garbage in or on any public or private alley, street, or public ground in the city.
Because Chapter 12 does not set its own dollar penalty for §§ 12.4 or 12.5, enforcement runs through the Gilroy City Code's general penalty schedule in § 1.7, which treats a Code violation as an infraction on the first three offenses within a year and escalates a fourth or later offense to a misdemeanor. The health officer, fire chief, and any peace officer have a standing right of entry under § 12.2 to inspect a hotel, restaurant, public place, yard, or residence for unlawful accumulations and order their removal, and obstructing that inspection is itself a misdemeanor.
Related sections of Chapter 12 separately declare dumping on one's own premises and using premises as a dumping ground to be a nuisance, so the city can pursue nuisance abatement against a property owner in addition to a criminal citation for the trespass-dumping and public-grounds offenses.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of the dumping sections is an infraction fined up to $100, a second within a year up to $200, a third up to $500, and a fourth or later becomes a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both, under the Code's general penalty schedule in § 1.7.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to dump trash on someone else's property in Gilroy?
Can I leave trash on the street or in an alley in Gilroy?
What is the penalty for illegal dumping in Gilroy?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Gilroy
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Illegal Dumping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Santa Clara County handle illegal dumping.