Calaveras County, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

170 makes it unlawful for any person to dispose of solid waste except in an authorized solid waste transfer station or disposal site, in appropriate and serviced storage containers, or in other areas the county has designated for disposal. The section expressly reaches litter, defined elsewhere in the chapter as solid waste improperly discarded at any location or that migrates from a disposal facility, including packaging and containers of steel, aluminum, glass, paper or plastic thrown or deposited on the state's lands and waters. 180.

570, applies to any violation, including illegal dumping: a first violation is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $50, a second violation of the same rule within a year climbs to a fine of not more than $100, and a third or later violation within that year rises to not more than $250, unless the county chooses to charge it as a misdemeanor. The enforcement agency has that option once a person racks up a sixth or further violation of the same ordinance in a single year, at which point misdemeanor penalties under the broader county code apply instead of the infraction schedule.

Each separate day a violation occurs or continues counts as its own separate offense for penalty purposes, so an illegally dumped pile that sits uncleared keeps accruing exposure. The penalty section also lets the county assign roadside cleanup duty to anyone convicted of producing litter, on top of whatever fine is imposed, and nothing in the chapter prevents combining that cleanup duty with the monetary penalty.