Aiken County, SC Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Sec. 10-48 of the county code prohibits dumping, leaving trash, refuse, or garbage on any property in Aiken County unless the property has been permitted by SCDHEC or by Aiken County as a landfill or county drop-off center; anything else is illegal dumping. Related provisions round out the article: Sec. 10-49 bars throwing refuse or articles from a motor vehicle, moving or stopped, on any public or private property, and Sec. 10-50 requires vehicles hauling refuse or construction debris to be covered or constructed so nothing leaks, blows, or falls onto the road, though litter officers must personally witness debris coming from the vehicle to write a charge.

Sec. 10-52 separately makes it unlawful to salvage or scavenge items from any waste container site or landfill. Penalties for the whole article, including illegal dumping, are set in Sec. 00 per offense, plus a mandatory minimum of five hours of litter-gathering labor or other court-ordered public service. A second conviction adds a minimum of twenty hours of community service on top of any fine. The court may substitute additional labor for a monetary fine at a rate of up to one hour of labor per five dollars of fine, and a judge may also order a violator to personally pick up litter they deposited on public or private property.

Sec. 10-55 makes each day of a continuing violation a separate offense and directs all county law enforcement officers to patrol waste disposal sites and county roads to bring cases.