Tulare, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Tulare relies primarily on state law for illegal dumping enforcement. Cal. Penal Code § 374.3 makes it an infraction (or misdemeanor for commercial quantities) to place, deposit, or dump waste on any public or private highway, road, or land — including vacant lots, alleys, irrigation ditches, and roadside ditches common in the Central Valley. Fines: 1st conviction $250–$1,000; 2nd $500–$1,500; 3rd or subsequent $750–$3,000. Each day the waste remains is a separate violation. Used-tire dumping doubles the fine (a major Tulare County problem given the ag fleet). Commercial-quantity dumping is a misdemeanor: $1,000–$3,000 + up to 6 months jail (1st); $3,000–$6,000 (2nd); $6,000–$10,000 (3rd+). Courts may also order the defendant to remove the waste or pay cleanup costs. Locally, TMC § 7.28.030 declares accumulation of refuse, rubbish, garbage, offal, or animal excrement that emits offensive odors or attracts vermin a public nuisance abatable by the City, with abatement costs becoming a lien on the property under California Government Code § 38773.