What is illegal dumping? 

Illegal dumping is the improper disposal of waste in public or private areas, such as neighborhoods, parks, rural properties, and local bodies of water. 

In 2020, jurisdictions in Contra Costa County received over 8,995 reports of illegal dumping. Each year, the number of illegal dumping reports grows and the Contra Costa Clean Water Program and the Contra Costa County Illegal Dumping Initiative needs your help to stop this problem.

Improperly disposed items like household garbage, mattresses, appliances, building materials, abandoned vehicles and boats, and even yard waste are considered illegal dumping. 

Why is this happening?

Illegal dumping may be caused by a lack of public awareness of how and where to properly dispose of items, the use of unpermitted trash haulers, and also, residents may think it’s more convenient and saves them money. But actually, it will cost the resident and county 8x more to clean up illegal dumping versus someone disposing of garbage properly.

But we can help. 

Our goal is to equip you with the knowledge and resources to properly dispose of your materials and help keep our environment, community, and wildlife healthy. Here’s what you can do.

Here’s what to do

Go to RecycleWare.org or call the Recycling Hotline at 1-800-750-4096 to find out how and where to properly dispose of items. 

Call your garbage company to schedule free curbside pickup service for extra bagged waste and or bulky items. 

Participate in local community cleanup and mattress drop-off events.

Illegal dumping is an epidemic and is seen throughout all of Contra Costa County. Illegal dumping in impacted communities is so severe that at times it spills out onto the sidewalks and streets. 

Rodents take up homestead in abandoned mattresses, box springs, couches, household appliances, etc.

Sitting piles cause the infestation to spread to local residences. More importantly, many young students walk to school and must walk around the trash piles or cross the street to avoid harm. 

Everyone pays the cost of illegal dumping, whether it’s the taxpayers who pay for the cleanup or the impact to the environment, wildlife, and human health.

Illegal dumping may be punishable by up to $10,000 and up to six months in jail. If you observe someone actively dumping in unincorporated Contra Costa County, call the Sheriff’s non-emergency number by dialing 925-646-2441. Or if you live in an incorporated city or town, call 1-800-NO-DUMPING.

If you spot a pile of illegal dumped materials, please call 1-800-NO-DUMPING. Or if you live in unincorporated Contra Costa County, you can download the “Mobile Citizen” app from your app store. With the Mobile Citizen app, residents on the go can easily send a cleanup request by simply selecting illegal dumping, taking a photo, providing comments, details about location, then hit submit.

Household hazardous wastes are the leftover unused portions of chemicals and products used to clean and maintain your home. These materials are often labeled caution, warning, danger, poison, toxic, flammable, or corrosive. For safety and environmental reasons, it is illegal to improperly dispose of household hazardous waste.

That can include pouring them down the drain, on the ground, into storm sewers, or in some cases, putting them out with the regular trash. Please take these materials to your local household hazardous waste collection facility. 

Let’s work together to help keep our neighborhood and local waterways clean and safe for all of us to enjoy.