Litter laws
What is litter? What is littering? This is what the law says in NSW.
The Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act) is the primary piece of environmental legislation regulating littering in NSW.
What is 'litter' according to the law?
Under section 144A of the POEO Act 'litter' includes:
a) any solid or liquid domestic or commercial refuse, debris or rubbish and, without limiting the generality of the above, includes any glass, metal, cigarette butts, paper, fabric, wood, food, abandoned vehicles, abandoned vehicle parts, construction or demolition material, garden remnants and clippings, soil, sand or rocks, and
b) any other material, substance or thing deposited in or on a place if its size, shape, nature or volume makes the place where it has been deposited disorderly or detrimentally affects the proper use of that place,
deposited in or on a place, whether or not it has any value when or after being deposited in or on the place.
What is 'depositing' litter according to the law?
Under section 144A of the POEO Act 'depositing' litter in or on a place includes:
(a) dropping or throwing litter in, on, into or onto the place, or
(b) leaving litter in or on the place, or
(c) putting litter in such a location that it falls, descends, blows, is washed, percolates or otherwise escapes or is likely to fall, descend, blow, be washed, percolate or otherwise escape into or onto the place, or
(d) causing, permitting or allowing litter to fall, descend, blow, be washed, percolate or otherwise escape into or onto the place.
Some examples of depositing litter are:
- throwing food wrappers or cigarette butts from a vehicle
- leaving a food container under a park bench
- stubbing a cigarette onto a footpath
- tossing an apple core into a garden bed
- allowing soil, sand or garden waste to blow from a moving vehicle.
Littering offences under the POEO Act
The littering offences are:
- littering (including littering from vehicles): depositing litter on land or waters in a public place or an open private place
- dangerous littering: littering dangerous material in or on either a public place or an open private place
- depositing, or asking, requiring, inducing or causing someone to deposit, advertising material in a public place or open private place other than in a mail box or under a door; it is illegal to deposit advertising material on property gates or fences or in other inappropriate areas where it has the potential to become litter
- depositing, or asking, requiring or causing someone to deposit, advertising material on any vehicle, e.g. under car windscreen wipers.
Regulatory tools under the POEO Act to address littering
An authorised officer (as defined in section 144AD of the POEO Act) may give the person who deposited the litter, or the person who caused or permitted the deposit, a verbal direction to remove the litter from a public place. Failure to comply with the direction could result in an on-the-spot fine or a Court-imposed penalty.
The appropriate regulatory authority, who is normally either a local council or the EPA depending on the circumstances, can also issue a clean-up notice requiring removal of litter from a public place. Failure to comply with the clean-up notice could result in an on-the-spot fine or a Court-imposed penalty.
How much are littering fines and penalties?
|
Offence |
Penalty Notice (on-the-spot-fine) |
Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|
|
Littering a small item or unlit cigarette |
Individual: $160 |
$5,000 |
| Corporation: $160 | $10,000 | |
|
Other litter and litter from a vehicle
|
Individual: $500 |
$5,000 |
|
Corporation $1,000 |
$10,000 | |
| Littering dangerous material (e.g. lit cigarette)
|
Individual: $1,000 |
$25,000 |
|
Corporation: $5,000 |
$50,000 |
|
|
Depositing litter - more than 50 litres or 50 kilograms |
Individual: $1,000 |
$25,000 |
| Corporation: $5,000 | $50,000 | |
| Depositing litter - more than 50 litres or 50 kilograms in or on a sensitive area | Individual: $2,500 | $50,000 |
| Corporation: $10,000 | $100,000 | |
| Not complying with an authorised officer’s direction to remove litter or waste – less than 50 litres or 50 kilograms | Individual: $250 | $5,000 |
| Corporation: $1,000 | $10,000 | |
| Not complying with an authorised officer’s direction to remove litter or waste – more than 50 litres or 50 kilograms | Individual: $500 | $10,000 |
| Corporation: $2,000 | $20,000 | |
| Non-compliance with a clean-up notice issued for depositing litter or waste | Individual: $2,500 | $25,000 (with a further penalty of $6,000 for each day the offence continues) |
| Corporation: $5,000 | $50,000 (with a further penalty of $6,000 for each day the offence continues) |
Definitions
Dangerous material
In section 145A of the POEO Act, ‘dangerous material’ means the following:
(a) a lit cigarette or a lit cigarette butt,
(b) an e-cigarette,
(c) a lithium battery or an item that contains a lithium battery,
(d) a syringe,
(e) glass,
(f) oil, fuel, grease, paint or solvent,
(g) a substance, material or other thing prescribed by the regulations.
Public place
In the Dictionary of the POEO Act, 'public place' includes:
(a) a public place within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993, and
(b) a State forest or flora reserve within the meaning of the Forestry Act 2012, and
(c) a national park, state recreation area, historic site, nature reserve, karst conservation reserve, regional park or Aboriginal area within the meaning of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, and
(d) a place that is open to the public, or is used by the public, whether or not on payment of money or other consideration, whether or not the place is ordinarily so open or used, and whether or not the public to whom the place is so open, or by whom the place is so used, consists only of a limited class of persons.
Examples of public places include railway stations, bus stops, sports venues, parks, roads, footpaths and carparks.
Open private place
Under section 144A of the POEO Act, 'open private place' means:
(a) a private place that is situated in or on land and that is not within a building on the land, or
(b) a private place that is situated in or on waters.
Examples of open private places include gardens or yards around private residences or industrial premises, farm or grazing land and privately owned vacant land.
Advertising material
Under section 144A of the POEO Act, 'advertising material' means any paper product (including a leaflet, brochure or magazine), or other material thing, that contains advertising or promotional matter.