Erie County, NY Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Local Law No. 5 of 2025 was adopted because, as the Legislature found, unauthorized placement of refuse on County-owned parcels pollutes County property and creates a negative economic impact for remediation. Section 4(A) bars any person, business or corporate entity, or their agent or employee, from dumping, directing the dumping of, depositing, or disposing of dirt, sand, gravel, clay, loam, stone, rocks, rubble, building rubbish, sawdust, shavings, commercial or household waste, refuse, ashes, manure, garbage, rubbish, yard and landscaping waste, or debris of any sort, or any other organic or inorganic material, on any sidewalk, street, lot, park, public place, wharf, pier, dock, slip, or other property owned by the County of Erie, unless the disposal conforms to state and federal law and is authorized at that specific site under the Laws of Erie County.

Section 4(B) separately prohibits dumping solid waste as defined in 6 NYCRR 360 or hazardous waste as defined by Environmental Conservation Law Section 37-0103 on the same categories of County property, subject to the same authorization exception. Section 4(C) requires written approval from the Erie County Department of Public Works Commissioner before any fill is placed on County-owned property, and written approval from the Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Commissioner before fill is placed on County Parkland or Forestland; fill must follow accepted engineering practices and the source must be documented to and accepted by the Department of Public Works.

This law reaches only property owned by the County of Erie; it does not regulate dumping on private land or on land owned by the cities, towns and villages within the county, which have their own local dumping and nuisance ordinances.