California legal term
Illegal dumping in California Criminal Law
Current through 2026 California legislative session
In California criminal law, “Illegal dumping” is a term defined by statute rather than by its everyday meaning. Its statutory definition — quoted verbatim below — controls how the term is applied throughout the California criminal code.
What does “Illegal dumping” mean in California criminal law?
“Illegal dumping” means the willful or intentional depositing, dropping, dumping, placing, or throwing of any waste matter onto public or private property that is not expressly designated for the purpose of disposal of waste matter. “Illegal dumping” does not include the discarding of small quantities of waste matter related to consumer goods and that are reasonably understood to be ordinarily carried on or about the body of a living person, including, but not limited to, beverage containers and closures, packaging, wrappers, wastepaper, newspaper, magazines, or other similar waste matter that (Cal. Vehicle Code § 23112.7)
Statutes defining or using this term
Related terms in the same statutes
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.