Lawrence, KS Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Who it covers
- Residents, businesses, contractors, and builders
- Prohibited act
- Accumulating or dumping refuse on any property
- Maximum fine
- $1,000.00 under general penalty § 1-113
- Maximum jail term
- 180 days in city jail
- Continuing violation rule
- Each day counts as a separate offense
Summary
In the City of Lawrence, Lawrence City Code § 9-408 makes it unlawful for any resident, business, contractor, or builder to accumulate or deposit refuse on a lot, driveway, alley, street, or any other place in the city, and bars throwing or dumping trash on someone else's property or on public streets and alleys.
It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of any residence, institution, professional, commercial, or business establishment, or for contractors or builders engaged in construction or remodeling projects, to deposit or accumulate refuse in or upon any lot, parcel of land, public or private drive, alley, street or other place in the city. No person shall permit or allow any refuse to be scattered about in the person's yard or upon the premises occupied by the person or to throw or deposit any refuse upon the premises of any other person or upon any of the streets, alleys or other public places in the city.
Full Breakdown
Section 9-408 reaches two separate acts: depositing or accumulating refuse on one's own lot, parcel, public or private drive, alley, or street, and scattering, throwing, or depositing refuse on another person's premises or on any city street, alley, or public place. The prohibition covers residential occupants and owners as well as institutional, professional, commercial, and business establishments, and expressly reaches contractors and builders engaged in construction or remodeling projects who leave debris accumulating on a site. 00, up to 180 days in the city jail, or both.
Section 1-113(d) treats a continuing accumulation as a separate offense for each day it persists, so an unaddressed dump site can multiply the exposure quickly. The rule traces back to Code 1979 § 9-508, carried into Code 1984 and Code 2018 through Ordinance Nos. 6061 and 6385, and it works alongside the health nuisance provisions in chapter 9, article II, which the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department enforces against unsanitary accumulations more broadly.
Violations & Fines
A conviction under § 9-408 carries the general municipal penalty of § 1-113: a fine between $1.00 and $1,000.00, up to 180 days in the city jail, or both. Because an accumulation that continues day to day counts as a new offense each day under § 1-113(d)(1), an owner who leaves dumped refuse in place keeps accruing separate violations until the site is cleared.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is dumping trash on someone else's property illegal in Lawrence?
Does the illegal dumping ban apply to construction sites in Lawrence?
What is the penalty for illegal dumping in Lawrence?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lawrence
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