Kendall County, IL Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Kendall County Code Chapter 18, Article II, Public Health Nuisances, defines the illegal dumping rule broadly. Sec. 18-21(a) makes it unlawful for anyone to cause, or allow to be caused, the dumping of any refuse on public or private land unless the dumping happens at a site permitted by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. 'Refuse' is defined in Sec. 18-19 to include garbage, rubbish, dead animals, abandoned automobiles, discarded appliances, and solid manufacturing and industrial waste, so the ban reaches everything from a bag of household trash left in a ditch to a dumped appliance or junked car on vacant land.

Sec. 18-21(b) separately bars accumulating refuse, animal carcasses, tires, or abandoned vehicles that could become a harborage for mosquitoes, rodents, or other vermin, though normal on-farm storage of manure or machinery is exempted. The County's enforcement officer, designated by the County Board and the County Board of Health, investigates complaints under Sec. 18-26: the officer can enter property on reasonable notice, and if a violation is confirmed the Health Authority issues a written notice to abate within a set time, followed by a compliance inspection.

If the condition poses an immediate and serious threat, the enforcement officer can go straight to court for an emergency abatement order instead of waiting out the notice period. The Health Department also reports annual nuisance-complaint totals to the County Board under Sec. 18-27.