National City, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- National City Municipal Code § 7.10.170
- Street or park deposit
- Requires a permit from the public works director
- Bringing rubbish into the city
- Written city permit required, even with owner consent
- Hauled loads
- Contained in a vehicle or covered by a tarp
- Cleanup liability
- All expense to clean and restore, plus any other penalty
- Administrative citation fines
- One hundred, two hundred, then five hundred dollars
- Abatement appeal
- Three days, excluding weekends and legal holidays
Summary
National City Municipal Code § 7.10.170 bars depositing garbage, rubbish, brush, dirt, dead animals or any other matter in a ditch, arroyo, storm drain, street, park or on another person's lot. Anyone who spills, deposits or abandons matter on public or private property owes the full cost of cleanup and restoration, on top of any other penalty.
A.Placement of Rubbish in Ditches or on Public or Private Property. No person shall deposit or place in any ditch, arroyo, or storm drain, or upon any street or park without first obtaining a permit therefor from the public works director, or upon any lot belonging to another, or upon his own lot in such a manner that the same is or may become a nuisance, any bailing wire, tin cans, brush, tree trimmings, ashes, earth, dirt, stones, paper, dead animals, garbage, rubbish, refuse or any other kind of matter. ... C.Liability for Cleanup of Spilled, Deposited or Abandoned Matter. Any person who spills, deposits or abandons any matter whether intentionally or unintentionally on any highway or public or private property so as to impede or impair the normal use thereof or so as to create a condition which requires the property to be cleaned or cleared shall, in addition to any other penalty, be liable for the payment of the cost of any and all expense necessary to clean or clear the property of such matter and to restore the property to its natural or former condition.
Full Breakdown
The core dumping rule is § 7.10.170(A) in the Garbage and Refuse Collection chapter. It names the places: any ditch, arroyo or storm drain, any street or park unless the public works director has issued a permit, any lot belonging to another, and a person's own lot when the matter is or can become a nuisance. It also names the materials: bailing wire, tin cans, brush, tree trimmings, ashes, earth, dirt, stones, paper, dead animals, garbage, rubbish and refuse, closed off by 'any other kind of matter.' Subsection B requires a written permit from the city council to maintain or operate a public dump. Subsection C makes the person who spills, deposits or abandons matter, intentionally or unintentionally, liable for all expense of cleaning or clearing the property and restoring it to its natural or former condition, in addition to any other penalty.
Related sections widen the net. Section 7.10.180(B) prohibits bringing rubbish or garbage into the city, or leaving, dumping, burying or burning it on property in the city, without a written city permit, even when the property owner consents. Section 7.10.180(C) requires hauled rubbish or garbage to be contained within a vehicle or covered by a tarp or other suitable covering. Under § 7.10.050(H), placing discarded material in, on or near a receptacle, container or bin is unlawful unless the person has an ownership or possessory interest in it.
Littering has its own chapter. Section 7.14.040 prohibits throwing, depositing or accumulating litter in any public place or on private premises, leaving containers, waste, food paper, wood, trash or refuse on any street, alley, gutter, sidewalk or parkway, throwing litter from a vehicle, and depositing litter in any fountain, pond, lake, stream, ocean, bay or other body of water. Tow operators must pick up residue from collision scenes at the time of vehicle removal (§ 7.14.040(L)). Section 7.14.070 makes it unlawful to place any sewage or other liquid or material, except stormwater, into a public or private storm drain. Owners, contractors and builders must haul away construction refuse at their own cost when a structure is complete (§ 7.14.090).
Litter abatement follows the procedures of § 7.12.090 (§ 7.14.120): written notice and order from the code conformance officer, an appeal filed with the city clerk within three days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and a hearing before the city council.
Violations & Fines
Title 7 violations are misdemeanors that the code conformance officer can charge as infractions (§ 7.32.060), and each day a violation continues is a separate offense (§ 7.32.030(E)). Under § 1.44.030(E), dumping and littering can draw an administrative citation without a prior notice of violation. Chapter 1.44 fines are one hundred dollars for a first violation, two hundred dollars for a second within the same year and five hundred dollars for each additional violation that year (§ 1.44.050). Abatement costs can be collected by recorded lien, civil action or a county tax roll assessment (§ 7.12.090(D)).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is dumping banned in National City?
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Can I bring trash from outside the city and leave it on a lot in National City?
Is throwing trash from a car window covered?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in National City
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