Grays Harbor County, WA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Grays Harbor County Code § 8.28.040 designates the Aberdeen Sanitary Landfill and the Grays Harbor Central, Elma, Hogan's Corner, Humptulips, Pacific Beach and Westport transfer stations as the sole lawful disposal sites for solid waste generated in the unincorporated county, in participating cities and, when the county allows it, from outside the county. Section 8.28.050(A) makes it unlawful to dispose of solid waste from the unincorporated area anywhere other than those designated sites. Subsection (B) extends the ban to hazardous waste, non-solid waste, or any material a disposal site isn't authorized to accept by type, volume, timing or means of delivery. Subsection (C) declares any disposal facility operated in violation of the chapter, and any violation of the section itself, a public nuisance, and directs that Chapter 8.40 governs enforcement.

Under Chapter 8.40, the county's code compliance specialist or the director of solid waste can pursue voluntary correction first, then a formal Notice of Violation and, if unresolved after sixty days, an Order to Correct before referring the matter to the Grays Harbor County prosecuting attorney's office for civil or criminal action. Section 8.40.030(D) authorizes a civil fine of not less than $25 nor more than $100 per day of continued violation, plus cleanup fees of $25 per cubic foot of material removed, and lets the county bar a violator from using any disposal site, terminate a hauler's contract or license, or ask the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission to revoke a certificated hauler's authority to collect or transport waste. All abatement costs, cleanup fees and fines become a lien against the property under § 8.40.030(F).