Paramount, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 13.20.010 of the Paramount Municipal Code is the City's flat dumping prohibition. It opens with "No person shall place, deposit, throw or dump, or cause to be placed, deposited, thrown or dumped" and then lists what is covered: garbage, swill, cans, bottles, papers, ashes, dirt, sand, rock, cement, glass, metal, the carcass of any dead animal, offal, refuse, plants, cuttings, trash or rubbish of any nature whatsoever, plus any nauseous, offensive matter.

The reach is wide on both axes. The locations covered are any public or private road, highway, street, alley or public way, and any public or private property of any kind whatsoever. A vacant lot, a neighbor's side yard, a parkway and a back alley in the City of Paramount are all treated the same way. The words "cause to be placed" bring the person who arranges the dumping into the rule as well, so a property owner who pays a hauler to unload fill dirt or debris on a lot is exposed along with the driver.

Other provisions in the Municipal Code apply when the material is waste rather than a one-time dump. Section 8.20.080(A) separately bars littering or leaving refuse, rubbish, food waste or garbage in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, storm drain, inlet, catch basin or drainage structure unless the material is in a container, bag, recycling bin or other lawful disposal facility. Section 13.20.320 bars keeping rubbish, filth or other waste that is liable to become a fire menace or a menace to health or safety on a premises for more than seven days. Section 13.20.190 covers bulky goods left beside a street and pairs it with a discretionary 24-hour warning notice and a service fee.

Under § 13.20.070 the Coordinator of Community Safety is the official in charge of the immediate administration of Chapter 13.20, and the City Manager holds that role if no one is designated. Enforcement runs through the criminal route in § 1.04.150 and the administrative citation route in Chapter 1.08, which the City can use in lieu of or in addition to criminal remedies.