St. Peters, MO Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 215.010(I), the Littering Nuisance provision, makes it unlawful for any person on public or private property within the City to litter by willfully or negligently throwing or dropping bottles, cans, papers, liquid, ice or trash of any kind, or by unloading or dumping refuse onto any area not authorized for refuse disposal. The Section specifically addresses vehicle-based dumping: the driver of any vehicle, other than a public service vehicle, is held liable whenever it cannot be determined which occupant of the vehicle actually committed the littering or dumping act, closing off the defense that a passenger, not the driver, threw the material.

Illegal dumping also feeds the City's broader nuisance scheme: Section 215.010(F) separately declares an accumulation of rubbish, trash or junk that threatens a fire hazard, standing water or rodent and vermin harborage to be a public nuisance, and Section 215.010(E) reaches material left to accumulate on any premises, improved or not, occupied or vacant, or any open lot or alley, in a manner that shelters or feeds rodents. Because littering under Section 215.010 is a violation of Chapter 215 rather than a separately penalized offense, Section 215.010(J) confirms the Chapter's abatement remedies apply in addition to prosecution, and a conviction is punishable under the City's general penalty, Section 100.060: a fine of up to five hundred dollars, imprisonment of up to ninety days, or both, with each day of a continuing violation treated as a separate offense.

The Code Official can also order the dumped material abated and bill the responsible property owner for the cost of removal, plus a twenty-five percent administrative overhead charge under Section 215.037(I).