Kenton County, KY Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 50.066, OPEN DUMPING, prohibits dumping solid waste, including bulky waste, on roadsides, in hollows, rivers, streams, lakes and similar lands anywhere in unincorporated Kenton County. The section incorporates state law directly, citing KRS 224.40-100 alongside the county chapter as the basis for the prohibition, so a dumping violation can be charged under both the state statute and the local ordinance. The chapter's COUNTY definition (§ 50.001) limits this reach to unincorporated Kenton County, exclusive of cities or incorporated areas; dumping inside Covington, Independence, or another municipality falls under that city's own code, not this section.

Enforcement runs through the Director of the Solid Waste Management Program, defined in § 50.001 as the Solid Waste Coordinator for the Northern Kentucky Solid Waste Management District, operating under an interlocal agreement with Boone and Campbell Counties dated September 25, 1991. Related disposal provisions in the same chapter require that all solid waste, including bulky waste, go to a permitted sanitary landfill under KRS 224.43-101, 224.40-100 and 224.40-310 (§ 50.067), and ban open burning of solid waste except as the Director allows under 401 KAR 63:005 (§ 50.065).

Anyone hauling, collecting or processing solid waste commercially in the county, including cleanup contractors removing illegally dumped material, must hold an annual permit under § 50.080, costing $50 per year under § 50.083, backed by public liability insurance of at least $100,000 per person injured, $300,000 per accident, and $50,000 for property damage under § 50.081.