Mebane, NC Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

The first sentence of § 26-1(a) is broad by design: it bars any person from throwing, depositing, storing, or permitting to remain any garbage, refuse, litter, waste materials or other debris on any vacant or occupied private property within the city, whether owned by such person or not. That last phrase means a third party who dumps on someone else's lot is violating the ordinance just as much as an owner who lets junk pile up on their own land. Subsection (b) layers on a standing maintenance duty: the owner or person in control of any private property must keep it, at all times, free of litter, debris, construction waste, and junked or abandoned appliances, auto parts, and tires, regardless of who is responsible for the mess.

Chapter 26 carries no penalty of its own, so enforcement runs through the Code's general provision, § 1-6, which treats an unlawful condition on real property as grounds for more than a citation: the city may pursue an injunction and a court order of abatement, and it can place a lien on the property, similar to a mechanic's lien, to recover the cost of cleaning it up if the property owner does not comply.