Richmond, VA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Sec. 11-102(a) makes it unlawful to dump or otherwise dispose of trash, garbage, refuse, litter, junk, demolition materials, hazardous wastes or other offensive, unwholesome, unsightly, unsanitary or unhealthy substances on public property, including in any waters within the City, a public highway, drainage ditch, culvert, pipe, storm drain, right-of-way, property adjacent to such highway or right-of-way, or on private property, without the written consent of the owner thereof or the owner's agent. That language reaches both public land, including storm drains and city waterways, and private property dumped on without the owner's written sign-off.

00 or confinement in jail for not more than 12 months, or both such fine and imprisonment. That is the harshest misdemeanor class under Virginia law. A companion provision, Sec. 11-103, separately criminalizes letting trash, junk, or discarded upholstered furniture accumulate on property one owns or occupies, or on the abutting alley, sidewalk, right-of-way or grass strip, without requiring proof of an active dumping act. Sec. 11-104 exempts licensed junk dealers, City and licensed private landfills, and materials properly containerized for Director of Public Works collection under Sec. 23-44. 2-902, which authorize localities to regulate litter and weeds.