Kershaw County, SC Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Article V's Litter Control Ordinance, adopted March 12, 2024, applies throughout the unincorporated area. Sec. 28-165(a) bars dumping, throwing, dropping, depositing or discarding litter or solid waste on any public or private property or in county waters, whether from a vehicle or otherwise, naming highways, parks, beaches, campgrounds, forest land, recreational areas and trailer parks as covered locations; the sole exception is disposal at a site the county or state has designated and authorized the person to use. Sec. 28-165(e) separately requires any load of loose litter or solid waste hauled by truck within the unincorporated county to be covered and fastened securely so nothing drops, sifts, leaks or escapes, making an inadequately secured moving load its own violation.

Responsibility for cleanup falls first on the person who littered; Sec. 28-165(b) shifts it to the property owner when the responsible party is unknown or unconvicted, though the court may weigh that owner's financial or physical ability to remove the litter. Sec. 28-166 sets escalating fines: not less than $250 for a first offense plus eight hours of litter-gathering labor or public service, not less than $500 for a second conviction plus 16 hours, and not less than $750 for a third conviction plus 24 hours, with a $1,000 cap on any fine and relief available on proof of inability to pay.

Sec. 28-167 lets Kershaw County Sheriff's Office deputies and commissioned county code and litter enforcement officers issue a uniform summons to anyone caught violating the ordinance or reasonably believed to have violated it on probable cause.