North Charleston, SC Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 9-41(b)(1) makes it unlawful to dump, throw, drop, deposit or otherwise discard litter or solid waste on any public or private property in the city or in city waters, from a vehicle or otherwise, whether the location is a highway, park, beach, campground, forest land, recreational area or alley. The only exceptions are property the city, county or state has designated for litter disposal, or depositing the litter into a proper litter receptacle in a way that keeps it from blowing or washing onto other property.

Subsection (b)(3) puts the removal duty on whoever did the dumping first; if that person cannot be identified or charged, the duty shifts to the property owner, though a court can weigh the owner's financial or physical ability to remove it. Anyone hauling loose material by truck within the city must keep it covered and secured under (b)(5); an uncovered load that litters the roadway is itself a violation. Section 9-41(c)(1) sets the base penalty: a dump under fifteen pounds or twenty-seven cubic feet is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $100 to $200 plus court costs, and the court must also impose at least five hours of litter-gathering labor or other public service.

Dumps exceeding that threshold rise to a $200 to $500 fine under (c)(3), plus a court-ordered cleanup or service obligation, and a second or later conviction adds a mandatory minimum of twenty hours of community service under (c)(4). Enforcement falls to the city's Law and Code Enforcement Officers, who can issue an on-the-spot summons or serve a fifteen-day written notice to abate before prosecuting and, if the owner still refuses, recover the city's cleanup costs from the owner.