Jonesboro, AR Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

City Code § 54-64 states the core prohibition: no person or entity may bury, dump or deposit, or cause to be buried, dumped or deposited, solid waste of any kind on any street, alley or property for which a permit has not been issued by the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology (ADPC&E, now ADEQ). The same section requires that any waste kept outside of an authorized container be handled only as prescribed in chapter 54 or through composting under ADPC&E Regulation 22. Section 54-29 defines an "illegal dumpsite" as any place where waste is deposited in a manner prohibited by the chapter and that creates an attractive nuisance, a public or private nuisance, a fire, health or safety hazard, or a source of surface water or groundwater contamination.

Before a citation issues, § 54-30(a) generally affords a ten-day grace period after notification of a violation, though the sanitation superintendent can shorten or eliminate that grace period when the interests of the city, the environment or surrounding residents require it. The sanitation superintendent and designees are authorized under § 54-30(c) to enter private property to check compliance and to cite responsible parties directly to municipal court.