Hemet, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 53-9, "Littering and illegal dumping," was added by Ordinance No. 2069, adopted January 13, 2026. The editor's note explains that the ordinance was drafted as §§ 53-15 through 53-17, but because §§ 53-16 and 53-17 already existed, the text was codified as § 53-9, a number left open when Ordinance No. 1990 repealed the old § 53-9 on storage of personal property in public places in 2022.

Subsection (a) bans littering. No person can place, throw, drop, sweep, track, spill, pour, discharge, deposit, or otherwise cause or permit litter to be or remain in any public place, on private property without the consent of the owner or lawful occupant, or in any municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4), waterway, gutter, inlet, catch basin, storm drain, channel, or appurtenance. The words "cause or permit" and "remain" mean litter you leave sitting is covered, not only litter you drop.

Subsection (b)(1) bans dumping. The list of covered material is broad: solid waste, recyclables, organics, bulky items, household or business waste, construction or demolition debris, green waste, hazardous waste, e-waste, and any other discarded material. Leaving any of it in a public place or on private property requires both the owner's or lawful occupant's consent and lawful collection arrangements with the city or its authorized hauler. Consent alone does not satisfy the section.

Subsection (b)(2) regulates receptacles. Public litter baskets are for incidental pedestrian waste only, so household, business, construction, demolition, and landscaping waste cannot go in them. Nobody can use a private or shared receptacle, including a commercial dumpster, cart, or compactor, without the owner's or account holder's consent, and nobody can overfill one so the lid will not close. Piling material on the ground, pavement, alley, or parkway next to a bin is barred when it risks overflow, spillage, wind displacement, or animal access, unless the city authorizes it in writing or it is part of a scheduled bulky-item pickup under the franchised hauler's program.

Subsection (c) puts a maintenance duty on property owners. All private property, including adjacent sidewalks, parkways, landscaped areas, alleys, parking lots, loading areas, and drive aisles visible from the public right-of-way, must stay free of litter. Properties need adequate refuse, recycling, and organics containers, serviced often enough to prevent overflow, with lids closed except in active use. Drive-through, take-out, sidewalk vending, outdoor dining, and special-event operations must supply visible patron containers, empty them, and run daily litter patrols.