Hutto, TX Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Hutto's general penalty section, § 1.01.009, sets tiered fine caps depending on the subject of the violation. Subsection (a) caps most code violations at $500.00 when no specific penalty is provided. Subsection (b) raises that cap for two categories: a fine or penalty for the violation of a rule, ordinance or police regulation that governs fire safety, zoning or public health and sanitation may not exceed $2,000.00, while a fine or penalty for the violation of a rule, ordinance, or police regulation that governs dumping of refuse may not exceed $4,000.00, the highest municipal fine tier in the code.

Section 1.01.009(f) makes each day a dumping violation continues a separate offense, so a pile of illegally dumped refuse left in place for a week can generate a week's worth of separate $4,000.00-capped fines. Appendix A § A2.004, 'City ordinances,' restates the same $4,000.00 cap for illegal dumping alongside the $2,000.00 fire/zoning/sanitation tier and a $500.00 catch-all for all other city violations, confirming the fee schedule and the general penalty section track each other. Because a dumping violation is also frequently a public-health nuisance, § 1.01.009(g) lets the city summarily abate any violation designated as a nuisance under the code, and pursue abatement of nuisances, injunctive relief and revocation of licenses or permits on top of the fine. Enforcement runs through the municipal court and code enforcement staff within Development Services.