Modesto, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Modesto Code § 5-5.106
- First violation fine
- $1,000.00
- Second violation fine
- $1,500.00 (within 12 mo.)
- Third+ violation fine
- $2,000.00 (within 12 mo.)
- Classification
- Abatable public nuisance
- Enforcement
- Public Works Director / Solid Waste Enforcement Officer
Summary
Dumping garbage, recycling, organic waste, green waste, hazardous waste, or bulky items on public or private property without the owner's consent is an abatable nuisance under Modesto Code § 5-5.106, with fines starting at $1,000.00 and climbing to $2,000.00 for repeat violations.
It is unlawful and shall constitute an abatable nuisance for any person to place garbage, recycling, organic waste, large green waste, small green waste, hazardous waste, and bulky items as defined in Sections 5-5.103(49), 5-5.103(80), 5-5.103(67) 5-5.103(61) 5-5.103(93), 5-5.103(52), 5-5.103(9), upon any public property or private property without the consent of the property owner, unless approved by the Public Works Director. ... (e)The penalty for failure to comply with Section 5-5.106 is as follows:(1)One thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for the first violation(2)Fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500.00) for a second violation within a twelve (12) month period of the first violation; and(3)Two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for a third violation within a twelve (12) month period of the second violation, and for each successive violation within the same twelve (12) month period.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 71).
Full Breakdown
106(a) declares it unlawful, and an abatable nuisance, to place garbage, recycling, organic waste, large or small green waste, hazardous waste, or bulky items on public or private property without the property owner's consent, unless the Public Works Director has approved the placement. The section carves out narrow exceptions: customers using the Bulky Item Collection Program, participants in the City's green waste and leaf collection under Title 4, Chapter 7, Article 11, and material dropped at a permitted solid waste or composting facility are not violating this rule.
Notably, subsection (a)(4) closes an obvious loophole by stating that an intent to later remove the dumped material is not a defense to the offense. Subsection (b) separately bans placing hazardous waste into any waste container, street, alley, or public right-of-way, and subsection (c) makes it unlawful to put garbage, recycling, organics, or green waste into someone else's container without that person's permission. The ordinance even reaches leaf blower operators: subsection (d) requires that any leaves, dirt, or debris blown onto public property or the public right-of-way be cleaned up and placed in the correct container.
00 rate repeating for every violation after that in the same window. 151, which also allows civil action in California courts to recover unpaid citations.
Violations & Fines
Illegal dumping under § 5-5.106 carries escalating fines: $1,000.00 for a first violation, $1,500.00 for a second violation within twelve months, and $2,000.00 for a third violation within twelve months of the second, repeating at $2,000.00 for each further violation in the same window. Separately dumping hazardous waste into a container, street, or right-of-way is also independently unlawful under § 5-5.106(b).
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as illegal dumping in Modesto?
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Can I avoid the fine by promising to clean it up later?
Does the illegal dumping rule apply to leaf blower debris?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Modesto
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