Lynwood, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Lynwood Municipal Code § 3-28.3 makes it unlawful and a public nuisance for anyone to place, throw, drop, sweep, or dump rubbish, refuse, debris, bulky items, hazardous waste, or solid waste on streets, sidewalks, alleys, parkways, parks, flood channels, other public property, or private property outside city-designated containers. Hiring another person to illegally dump is separately unlawful, and both the hirer and the disposer are jointly and severally liable for cleanup costs under subsection (b). Subsection (d) makes each act of dumping at a site a separate violation even if committed on the same day, and subsection (e) requires the responsible party to pay for cleanup and reimburse the city's enforcement costs, collectible through any available legal remedy if unpaid.

Section 3-28.4 additionally requires property owners and occupants to keep the adjacent public right-of-way free of dumped waste, and section 3-28.5 lets the city manager set up community-labor programs as an alternative to fines. Under § 3-28.6, a violation is a misdemeanor under § 1-5a, subject also to administrative citations and fines under Chapter 20, and the city may pursue summary abatement of the nuisance under § 3-13. A related ordinance, § 3-29, lets Lynwood seize and impound for up to 30 days any vehicle used in illegal dumping if the owner or operator has a prior conviction for the same offense within the past three years, with a $250 vehicle release fee before the vehicle is returned.