La Mesa, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 7.20.185 of the La Mesa Municipal Code targets unauthorized disposal by anyone hauling their own garbage under the chapter's self-haul allowance in Section 7.20.180, and by any hauler moving trash that belongs to someone else. The refuse must go to a landfill permitted by the State of California; dumping it into a receptacle or container owned or rented by another person, firm or agency is expressly prohibited, as is placing garbage for collection away from its property of origin specifically to dodge the City's contractor collection charge.

Section 7.20.195 sets the penalty: violating any provision of Chapter 7.20, including the dumping ban, is an infraction subject to the general penalty clause in Section 1.01.080, unless the specific misdemeanor list in Section 1.01.130 applies. Under Section 1.01.080, an infraction conviction carries a fine of up to two hundred fifty dollars, and each day a violation continues is a separate offense that can be charged again. The code also lets the City treat any dumping violation as a public nuisance subject to abatement. Community Development's code enforcement division and the La Mesa Police Department handle complaints and can refer repeat or large-scale dumping, such as unusual accumulations exceeding ten receptacles under Section 7.20.090, for additional contractor charges on top of any citation.