Saint Paul, MN Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited act
- Dumping/tracking debris onto streets from job sites (Sec. 221.01)
- Truck requirement
- Tires cleaned and tailgates closed before leaving site
- Joint liability
- Multiple contractors on one site share responsibility
- Enforcement authority
- Director of Public Works can order cleanup (Sec. 221.04)
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine or 90 days (Sec. 1.05)
- Exemption
- Barricaded excavation areas under a city permit (Sec. 221.05)
Summary
Saint Paul bars contractors from tracking or dumping construction debris onto streets, alleys, and sidewalks. Sec. 221.01 makes it unlawful for a contractor's vehicles to deposit dirt, gravel, construction waste, or similar material on a public way, and requires cleaned tires and secured tailgates before a truck leaves a construction or demolition site.
No contractor or other person shall operate or permit or cause his agents, employees or subcontractors to operate any vehicle from construction or demolition sites or from property adjacent to a street, alley or other public place onto and upon any street, alley, sidewalk or other public place: (1) In such a wire, earth, sand, gravel, ash, cinders, sawdust, hay, glass, manure, filth, paper, snow, ice, grass, leaves, twigs, shrubs, construction waste, garbage, or other offensive or nauseous material upon any street, alley, sidewalk or other public place; (2) Without first having its tires and wheels cleaned so as not to litter, scatter or deposit any foreign material upon any street, alley, sidewalk or other public place; (3) Without having tailgates of sufficient height and closed tightly at all times while the vehicle is in operation so as to keep dirt, sand, gravel or any other material being transported from spilling, falling or being blown from the vehicle.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 133 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 221 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code, 'Littering by Contractors,' targets dumping and tracking of debris from active construction and demolition sites onto public rights-of-way. Sec. ' The section also requires trucks to have their tires and wheels cleaned before leaving a site so they don't 'litter, scatter or deposit any foreign material' on the roadway, and requires tailgates be closed tightly at all times in operation to stop material from spilling or blowing off during transport. Sec. 02 separately requires contractors to keep the streets, alleys, and sidewalks adjacent to their sites free of dust and litter, including damage from erosion and landslides, and Sec.
03 makes multiple contractors on the same site jointly and severally responsible for cleanup. Sec. 04 gives the director of the department of public works authority to order any contractor to take reasonable precautions and to maintain adjacent public places free of debris. A carve-out in Sec. 05 exempts work inside a barricaded excavation area authorized by a city excavation permit, though excavated material stored there still can't be scattered or allowed to spread outside the barricade. 00 fine or 90 days imprisonment, or both, under Sec. 05.
Violations & Fines
There's no separate fine schedule in Chapter 221 itself, so a contractor caught tracking dirt or dumping debris onto a Saint Paul street or sidewalk is prosecuted under the citywide ordinance-violation penalty in Sec. 1.05: a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000.00 fine, up to 90 days in jail, or both. The director of public works can also order precautions or cleanup under Sec. 221.04.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a contractor be fined for tracking mud onto a Saint Paul street?
Who enforces the contractor dumping rules?
What's the maximum penalty for violating Saint Paul's dumping ordinance?
Sources & Official References
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