Overview
The new law in New South Wales covering littering and
advertising material both extends the range of offences and
the range of penalties that can be issued by officers from
councils and other enforcement agencies.
This is a summary of the new littering laws and other
important changes made by the Protection of the
Environment Operations Amendment (Littering) Act 2000 .
Commencement
The amendments commence in two stages:
- 1 July 2000 for amendments relating to
littering offences
- 1 April 2001 for amendments relating to
offences about advertising material.
This will make
it illegal for advertising material to be put in places such
as under car windscreen wipers, on property gates or fences,
a public place, open private area (ie private land outside
of a private building) and other inappropriate areas where
it has the potential to become litter.
Advertising
material is defined as "...any paper product (including a
leaflet, brochure or magazine) or other material thing that
contains advertising or promotional matter".
What is 'litter' according to the law?
The definition of ‘litter’ in section 144A of the Protection of the Environment Operations
Act 1997 (POEO Act) is as follows:
‘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 a
place if its size, shape, nature or volume makes the place
where it is 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.’
Littering offences
The littering offences are:
- littering (including littering from vehicles):
depositing litter on land or waters in a public place or an
open private place
- aggravated littering: littering which is reasonably
likely to cause or contribute to appreciable danger or harm
to any persons, animals, premises or property
- depositing, 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
- depositing, or causing someone to deposit, advertising
material on any vehicle.
What is 'depositing litter' according to the
law?
The definition of ‘depositing litter’ in section 144A of
the Protection of the Environment Operations
Act 1997 (POEO Act) is:
‘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.’
Examples of depositing litter
- throwing confectionary wrappers from a vehicle
- leaving a food container under a park bench
- stubbing a cigarette onto a footpath
- allowing soil, sand or garden waste to blow from a
moving vehicle
Public place
The definition of ‘public place’ in the dictionary of the
Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 is:
‘(a) public place within the meaning of the Local
Government Act 1993, and
(b) 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
(c) a State forest or flora reserve within the meaning of
the Forestry Act 1916, and
(d) a national park, state recreation area, historic
site, nature reserve, state game reserve or Aboriginal area
within the meaning of the National Parks and Wildlife Act
1974.’
Examples of public places
- railway stations, ferry wharves and bus stops
- parks and reserves
- roads, laneways, footpaths and thoroughfares used by the
public
- cricket grounds, football stadiums and sports venues
- carparks
- forecourts of shopping centres and petrol stations.
Open private place
The definition of ‘open private place’ in section 144A of
the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 is:
‘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
- gardens or yards around private residences or industrial
premises
- farm or grazing land
- privately owned vacant land
- small watercourses running through private land.
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