West Valley City, UT Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Section 24-2-111(1) reaches nearly every way solid waste or litter can land somewhere it doesn't belong: throwing, discarding, depositing, sweeping or dumping it into a public place, private premises, street, road, alley, land next to an alley, stream, well, spring, canal, ditch, gutter or any other lot or property, above or below ground. The ordinance carves out five narrow exceptions: waste placed in Department-approved containers or delivered to an approved facility; manure or soil-conditioning material spread with Department approval; waste temporarily staged for immediate, Department-approved removal; a properly maintained home compost pile under Section 24-2-111(5); and scrap or junk metal kept on a lawfully licensed business site.

A related duty in Section 24-2-111(4) makes it unlawful to knowingly leave a dead animal on premises, a street or private property; if the owner doesn't remove it within 24 hours of notice, the City's Health Department can do so and bill the owner for the actual removal cost. Enforcement runs through the Department, defined at Section 24-2-101(11) to include the Salt Lake City-County Health Department, the West Valley City Police Department, Public Works Department and Ordinance Enforcement Division, any of which may inspect property with the owner's consent or under an administrative search warrant per Section 24-2-118.

Anyone cited has 10 calendar days under Section 24-2-119 to request a hearing before the Department contesting a notice of violation. Under the penalty section, Section 24-2-120, each day a dumping violation continues is a separate offense, the city or county attorney may pursue civil or criminal action to force cleanup, and a violator remains liable for all of the Department's costs in removing or abating the dumped waste, on top of any court-imposed fine.