Westfield, IN Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Sec. 34-38 of the Westfield City Code, part of Chapter 34's litter division, prohibits any person from throwing, depositing or causing litter to be deposited "in or upon any private property, whether owned by such person or not," with a narrow carve-out: an owner or person in control of private land may keep private collection receptacles as long as the litter in them is not left to blow or spill onto a street, sidewalk, public place or neighboring private property. That makes the section reach both dumping trash on another person's lot and letting your own uncontained pile scatter beyond your line.

It sits alongside companion bans on littering public streets and sidewalks outside a receptacle (Sec. 34-32), sweeping debris into a gutter (Sec. 34-34), throwing litter from a moving vehicle (Sec. 34-36), hauling an unsecured truck load that drops material onto a road (Sec. 34-37), and storing scrap metal outside a city-authorized site (Sec. 34-39). Every violation of the litter article, including illegal dumping under Sec. 34-38, is a class C infraction under IC 34-4-32-4 per Sec. 34-43, exposing the violator to a judgment of up to $500.00, and paying the fine does not excuse or allow the violation to continue, with a fresh offense deemed committed each day the dumped material remains in place.