Surry County, NC Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 110.08 targets a specific method of illegal dumping: hiding solid waste by burying it in the earth or submerging it in a pond, creek or other body of water. The only carve-out under § 110.08(A) is for materials the state's Division of Waste Management has approved for filling low-lying ground, such as concrete, cinder block, brick, rock, asphalt or granite; a properly permitted landfill site that otherwise complies with state and federal law is exempt under § 110.08(B). The chapter reaches related dumping conduct through neighboring sections.

Section 110.04(A) separately makes it unlawful for an owner, occupant, tenant or lessee to deposit, store or permit to accumulate any solid wastes upon a property outside the manner the chapter prescribes, covering dumping onto one's own land as well as burial. Section 110.06 treats littering as a violation of the chapter in its own right and directs that littering violations be referred to state law enforcement for prosecution in addition to the county's own enforcement measures. The Local Ordinance Officer, Development Services Director, Sheriff's Office and Environmental Health inspectors enforce these provisions under § 110.02.

Because § 110.08 does not carry its own separate fine schedule, violations fall under the chapter's general § 110.99 penalty: a warning citation first, then escalating civil citations, with the possibility of a misdemeanor criminal summons for a violator who does not correct the dumping.