Norwalk, CT Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

City Code § 95A-2 defines illegal dumping as discarding more than one cubic foot of litter at one time, or dumping furniture, appliances, garbage bags or their contents, or similar materials. Under § 95A-3, no one may throw, scatter, spill, place, or cause to be blown, scattered, spilled, thrown or placed any litter on public property or on private property they do not own, or into City waters, except at a City-designated disposal site. The Chief of Economic and Community Development, the Chief Building Official, or a designee enforces this section.

Under § 95A-3B, that official may assess an administrative penalty of not more than $500 against a violator, pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes § 22a-250, following a hearing conducted under Connecticut General Statutes § 7-152c. Separately, § 95A-20B makes any violation of the chapter's illegal dumping provisions an infraction, fined in the amount set under § 90-4, Approval of rates and fees, with each day of continuing violation treated as a separate offense. Where the preponderance of included materials or other conclusive markings identifies the owner of dumped items, that owner may be deemed prima facie to have committed the offense, easing enforcement against dumpers who leave mail or paperwork in discarded loads.

Section 95A-20C further declares any activity that violates Chapter 95A, including illegal dumping, to be a nuisance, opening the door to additional nuisance-abatement remedies beyond the fine itself.