Jacksonville, NC Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

City Code § 9-23 makes it unlawful to throw, place or deposit garbage or litter, including leaves, grass clippings or pine straw, in any street, alley, public place or on private property anywhere within the city limits, except in the garbage containers the chapter authorizes. When the code enforcement officer finds trash or debris in a public street, park or alley, the property owner fronting that spot must remove it after written notice; the notice gives the owner two days to clear the debris and warns that the city will abate the nuisance and bill the owner if it is not removed in time.

If the owner still does not act, the city abates the nuisance itself, and the code enforcement officer sends the city finance officer an itemized statement of labor, hauling and other abatement costs. The finance officer then mails the owner a bill for those costs; under G.S. § 160A-193, the unpaid amount becomes a lien on the property and, if not paid within thirty days, is collected the same way as delinquent property taxes. Abating the nuisance this way does not stop the city from also pursuing a criminal case, and a court may issue an injunction to summarily abate a violation.

Anyone convicted of violating section 9-23, whether for the initial littering or for ignoring an abatement notice, is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and faces a fine of up to five hundred dollars at the court's discretion, as authorized by G.S. § 14-4.