Union City, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Union City's solid waste code flatly bans burning, dumping, placing, or burying any solid waste or other deleterious or offensive substance anywhere in the city, with a narrow exception for City-approved disposal sites or a specific written waiver from the City Manager for unusual conditions. Because this dumping ban is not expressly labeled an infraction, it falls under the Code's general penalty provision: a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, up to six months in jail, or both, though a prosecutor may instead charge it as a lesser infraction.