Surprise, AZ Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 58-134 lists illegal dumping first among the article's prohibited acts: placing solid waste on public or private property you don't own or control, mixing it into someone else's container, or exceeding the amount of debris the city manager allows in a container. The owner of record on file with the Maricopa County Recorder is presumed to be the person with lawful control over the property where the violation exists, and co-owners can be held jointly and severally responsible. If a responsible party served with a notice of violation or citation fails to correct the dumping within the specified period, § 58-134(9) lets the city abate the condition itself and bill the responsible party for the correction costs in addition to any fine.

Where the city manager finds an imminent health or safety hazard, § 58-134(10) allows immediate abatement without prior notice, limited to the minimum work needed to remove the hazard. Related prohibited acts in the same section include scavenging material set out for collection without the owner's authorization, interfering with collection crews, burning solid waste outside a permitted incinerator, and failing to remove construction and demolition debris within 30 days of generating it or by final inspection, whichever comes first. Because Chapter 58 does not set its own fine schedule for these offenses, the citywide default in § 1-7(d) applies: a violation is a class 1 misdemeanor, and each day the violation continues counts as a separate offense.