What is litter?
The Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 is the main piece of legislation dealing with litter. However the Act does not actually provide a legal definition of litter. The Offence of Leaving Litter (section 87 of the Act) says that if a person throws down, drops, deposits and leaves any thing so as to cause the defacement of a public place he or she is guilty of an offence.
Therefore the word ‘litter’ is given a very wide legal interpretation.
The broadly accepted description of litter is ‘waste in the wrong place caused by human agency’.
Rubbish that is discarded in the street, thrown from a car window or left in a public park is clearly ‘in the wrong place’.
There are many different types of litter, and litter can arise from different sources. Some types of litter can be hazardous, some just unsightly. Others are difficult and costly to clean up.
What all litter has in common is that it is caused by people.