Walker County, GA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Walker County Code § 28-24 makes it unlawful for any person to dump, deposit, throw or leave litter, defined in § 28-23 as sand, gravel, slag, brickbats, rubbish, waste material, tin cans, refuse, garbage, trash, debris, dead animals or discarded materials of every kind, on any public or private property in the County or in any County water. The ban covers rights-of-way, waterways, parks, playgrounds, buildings, conservation and recreation areas, and residential, farm, timber or forest land. Three narrow exceptions apply: the property is a site the County or a political subdivision designated for litter disposal and the person is authorized to use it; the litter goes into an installed litter receptacle; or the person is the property owner or tenant, or has the owner's or tenant's consent.

Section 28-25 creates an evidentiary shortcut for roadside dumping: litter thrown, dropped or dumped from a motor vehicle, boat or airplane is prima facie evidence the vehicle's operator violated the article, and litter discovered to contain identifying material, such as mail or bills bearing a person's name, creates a rebuttable presumption that person dumped it. Section 28-26 authorizes any State or County law enforcement agency or officer to enforce the article, so it is not limited to a single department. Under § 28-27, a conviction occurs in the Magistrate Court of the County and is punished according to the general penalty, § 1-13: a fine of up to $1,000.00, up to 6 months in the County Jail, or both.

As an alternative to jail, a judge may order a convicted person to pick up and remove litter from public streets, highways or rights-of-way, and, with the property owner's permission, from the private or park property where they dumped it.