Marietta, GA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 5-8-120 makes it unlawful to dispose of waste matter in a private or commercial container without authorization, or to throw rotten fruit, vegetables, dead carcasses, leaves, trash, grass, grease or similar substances into the streets, or into any stream or sewer in the city, with an exception only for emergencies the mayor declares. Section 5-8-150 targets the classic dumping scenario of trash generated at one address turning up at another: subsection A bars placing solid waste into a private or commercial container meant for a different location, and subsection B separately prohibits placing waste not in an approved container on any property other than where it originated.

Subsection C creates a rebuttable presumption that waste bearing an owner's identifying information belonged to and was under that person's control when discarded, which lets code enforcement trace dumped material back to a resident or contractor without catching them in the act. Subsection D of Section 5-8-150 expressly ties enforcement to the Code's general penalty, Section 11-4-080, which applies whenever a provision does not set its own fine: up to a $500 fine, up to six months in the city jail, or both, with each day of a continuing violation counted as a separate offense.