Pickens County, SC Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

The prohibition applies throughout the unincorporated county: no one may dump, throw, drop, deposit, discard, or otherwise dispose of litter or solid waste on public or private property, including highways, parks, lakeshores, waterways, campgrounds, forest land, recreational areas, trailer parks, roads, streets, or alleys, unless they own the property or have the owner's permission. Litter is defined broadly under Section 34-84 to include waste building material at construction sites, disposable packages, cigarette butts and filters, tires, and dead animals. Drivers hauling loose material by truck or trailer must keep it covered and secured; an uncovered load in motion is itself a violation.

Enforcement runs through the sheriff's office and county-commissioned code enforcement and litter enforcement officers, who can inspect public or private property, issue a uniform ordinance summons on the spot, and serve the property owner a written notice requiring abatement within 15 calendar days. An owner who has still not cleared the litter within 30 calendar days of that notice is served a summons and prosecuted; the county may then remove the litter itself and recover the cost, plus administrative expenses, from the owner. Where the person who littered is unknown, responsibility for cleanup shifts to the property owner, though the court can weigh the owner's financial or physical ability to remove it.

Cases are heard in the county magistrate's court, and all fines collected go to Pickens County to help fund enforcement of the litter ordinance. Beyond the fine, a judge can order restitution to the county or to victims for cleanup costs, and can order litter-gathering labor or other community service on top of any fine or jail term.