Kitsap County, WA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Kitsap County Code § 9.56.020(10)(b)(vii) defines illegal dumping as dumping of any type by any person on public or private property not designated as a legal dump site, and lists it as a nuisance under Chapter 9.56. A related provision, § 9.56.020(10)(b)(viii), separately treats dumping garbage, debris, gravel, earth, logs or brush into the banks, channels, or beds of navigable waterways as its own nuisance category. Ordinarily, under § 9.56.035, the county uses the civil infraction process in Title 17 and Chapter 2.116 of the Kitsap County Code before turning to Chapter 9.56 abatement, but that prerequisite is waived when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health, safety, or the environment.

Where abatement proceeds, the director issues a notice of abatement under § 9.56.040 identifying the illegal dumping, sets a corrective deadline, and schedules a hearing before the violations hearing examiner 20 to 60 days out under § 9.56.050. If the examiner affirms the violation, the county may remove the dumped material itself and bill the responsible party for all incidental expenses, including personnel and hauling costs, under § 9.56.060(4), with unpaid amounts becoming a lien on the property under § 9.56.060(6). This chapter reaches unincorporated Kitsap County only; Bremerton, Port Orchard, Poulsbo, and Bainbridge Island enforce dumping violations under their own municipal codes.