Southaven, MS Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Sec. 7-19 is the core dumping rule: it is unlawful for any person to dispose of, or cause to be disposed, any refuse or other waste materials upon any property other than a permitted disposal site as designated by the city. The words cause to be disposed reach a homeowner who pays someone else to haul and dump. Sec. 7-9 backs this up for city landfills, which no person can use without the prior written approval of the public works director, and vehicles presented for dumping must be enclosed at the sides and back and covered with a tarpaulin or other approved cover.

Sec. 7-20 treats littering as a misdemeanor. The list is long and specific: garbage, straw, dirt, chips, shells, nails, iron, glass, fruit peelings, melon rinds, paper, shavings, rags, gravel, brick, building debris, or other refuse or obnoxious substance, placed on any street, sidewalk, alley, public park, parkway, square or other place in the city, or on the property of another person. The same section makes it a misdemeanor to violate any of the requirements of the title.

Sec. 7-25 supplies the penalty. After due notice and a reasonable length of time set by the department issuing the notice, an uncorrected violation is punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), ninety (90) days in jail, thirty (30) days of community service, or a combination. Sec. 7-17 declares refuse kept so that it becomes offensive or deleterious to health a public nuisance and authorizes the DeSoto County Health Department, Southaven Planning Department, Public Works Director and Southaven Police Department to inspect premises. Sec. 7-16 separately requires construction and demolition contractors to containerize debris by the end of each day and clear mud and debris from public streets by the end of each day.