Texas City, TX Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 53.99 is the penalty section for Chapter 53, Solid Waste, in the Texas City Code of Ordinances, and it opens by making violations of the listed divisions Class C misdemeanors. Division (C), headed Disposal of waste originating outside city limits, is the city's direct anti-dumping rule: it is unlawful to bring into the city limits any trash, garbage, refuse or unwanted material with the intention of disposing of such refuse. The offense turns on intent to dispose, and the fines climb with each conviction: $500 for each violation on the first, $1,000 on the second and $2,000 on the third and every later conviction. The City Commission set these figures for Texas City in Galveston County, a port and refinery city that draws heavy truck traffic.

Division (D) covers the trip to the landfill. Anyone hauling trash or garbage to a landfill or a dropoff station must prevent any garbage or trash from falling onto any street, alley or thoroughfare in the city, and all loads of loose material must be covered, enclosed or secured so that nothing blows or falls onto public roadways en route. Division (E) bars scavenging: removing material from any receptacle, bag or sanitary container without the owner's effective consent is unlawful, with each removal a separate violation and minimum fines of $50, $200 and $400 on the first, second and third and later convictions.

Chapter 94 adds the littering rules. Sections 94.065 through 94.069 forbid throwing or depositing litter on streets, sidewalks and other public places, on open or vacant private property, on occupied private property, in parks and from vehicles. Those are punished under § 94.999(G) through § 10.99, which sets a fine not exceeding $2,000 in cases under the ordinances on fire safety, zoning and public health and sanitation, including dumping of refuse, and $500 in all other cases. Chapter 53 also lists special and hazardous waste disposal in § 53.23, and its definitions treat used motor oil, gasoline, oil-based paint or paint cans and creosote-treated wood as hazardous waste.