The littering laws have changed September 1, 2017. Here they are:
Littering is against the law and you can be fined up to $500 for trash less than or equal to five pounds or five gallons (as you may have seen on those blue Don’t mess with Texas signs). Repeat the offense, and you could face a fine of up to $2,000 and 180 days in jail.
It gets worse.
Discarding trash that weighs more than five pounds is considered illegal dumping and carries even steeper fines. In Texas, failing to cover your pickup-truck load is against the law and carries a fine of up to $200 for the first offense and $500 for repeat offenders.
Any law enforcement officer in Texas can enforce these laws.
These violations are Class C and B Misdemeanors, respectively. More than 5 pounds of trash can carry as much as a $2000 fine and/or 180 days in jail.
More to the point, we have residents here who fall under these categories of littering/dumping. Someone dropped a twin bed mattress and box spring on our common property, not near their house, but dumped it where it most certainly does not belong. We have had problems with illegal dumping here for a while. The City does get involved and we will continue to pursue these individuals.
We spend a lot of man hours cleaning up trash tossed out on the parking areas and common property here. Some of it comes from people driving though the complex using it as a “cut”. Please help us keep our community clean and free from trash on the grass and parking areas.