Tulsa, OK Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- Title 11-B, § 105
- Covers
- public property and others' private property
- Remedy
- court may order restitution to owner
- Exemption
- state-permitted disposal facilities excluded
- Enacted
- Ord. No. 24035, November 7, 2018
Summary
Tulsa makes it unlawful to dump garbage, trash, or debris on public property or someone else's private property without consent, and the municipal court can order the violator to pay restitution to the affected property owner.
It shall be unlawful and an offense for any person to deliberately place, drop, dump, deposit, throw, or discard any garbage, trash, waste, rubbish, refuse, debris or other deleterious substance on any public property or private property owned by another, including but not limited to any street, road, or park, without the consent of the property owner. This does not apply to the lawful deposit of solid waste in facilities that have permits issued by the State to accept such waste. In addition to the penalty as prescribed in the ordinance, the court may direct the person to make restitution to the property owner affected.
(Ord. No. 24035, § 1, 11-7-2018)
Full Breakdown
Title 11-B § 105 of the Tulsa Revised Ordinances bans deliberately placing, dropping, dumping, depositing, throwing, or discarding garbage, trash, waste, rubbish, refuse, debris, or other deleterious substances on public property or on another person's private property without the owner's consent, including streets, roads, and parks. The ban doesn't apply to solid waste lawfully deposited at a state-permitted disposal facility. Beyond whatever fine the municipal court imposes, Section 105 lets the judge order the violator to pay restitution directly to the property owner whose land was dumped on. Section 107 adds a rebuttable presumption: dumped items bearing a common address at one site presume that resident committed the dumping.
Violations & Fines
Illegal dumping is a municipal offense; on conviction the court may impose a fine and separately order the violator to make restitution to the property owner whose land was dumped on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is illegal dumping a crime in Tulsa?
Does the dumping ban apply to permitted landfills?
Can Tulsa presume who illegally dumped trash?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tulsa
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Illegal Dumping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle illegal dumping.