Middleton, WI Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Dumping on private property
- § 6.04(7)(c), owner/lessee consent required
- Public dumping/nuisance
- § 6.06, streets, sidewalks, waterways
- Removal power
- Public Works Director may summarily remove
- Penalty (§ 6.04)
- $25-$500 forfeiture, doubled for hazardous waste
- Continuing violation
- Each day is a separate offense
Summary
Dumping waste of any kind on someone else's property in Middleton without the owner's or lessee's permission violates Municipal Code § 6.04(7)(c), and a related nuisance section, § 6.06, separately bans depositing garbage or refuse on any street, sidewalk or waterway. Both carry real forfeitures per offense.
No person shall: ... (c)Deposit any waste of any kind whatsoever in or on the property of others without the permission of the owner or lessee of said property. ... Any person who violates any provision of this Section or any regulations promulgated pursuant to this Section shall forfeit upon conviction thereof not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each separate offense. Each day or part thereof during which a violation occurs or continues to occur shall be deemed a separate offense.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 3 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
04(7) lists prohibited waste practices under the mandatory recycling and solid-waste chapter, and subsection (c) is direct: no person shall deposit any waste of any kind whatsoever in or on the property of others without the permission of the owner or lessee of said property. That prohibition applies whether the waste is household trash, construction debris or yard waste, and it does not require the dumping to create a nuisance to be a violation. 06, covers public and quasi-public dumping: no person may place or deposit garbage, dead animal offal, decayed meat, refuse or filth on any sidewalk, gutter, street or alley, or on public or private grounds, or in any creek, pond or other body of water in the city, if it contaminates the water, damages public infrastructure or creates an offensive stench or nuisance.
06, the Public Works Director is empowered to summarily remove or cause the removal of any such material once it is unlawfully deposited. Both sections sit outside the routine curbside collection rules and target unauthorized dumping specifically, distinct from the chapter's separation and cart-placement requirements.
Violations & Fines
Violating § 6.04(7)(c) is punished under § 6.04(9)(a) by a forfeiture of not less than $25 nor more than $500 for each separate offense, doubled if the dumped material is hazardous waste, and each day the waste remains counts as a new offense. A § 6.06 violation for public dumping carries its own forfeiture under Section 30.04 of the Code, with each day of continuing violation likewise a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to dump trash on a neighbor's vacant lot in Middleton?
What if someone dumps garbage in a creek or on a public street?
How much is the fine for illegal dumping in Middleton?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Middleton
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Illegal Dumping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dane County handle illegal dumping.