Litter Act 1983
| Year | 1983 |
Litter Act 1983
1983 CHAPTER 35
An Act to consolidate the Litter Acts 1958 and 1971, together with section 51 of the Public Health Act 1961, section 4 of the Local Government (Development and Finance) (Scotland) Act 1964 and section 24 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and related provisions of those Acts.
[13th May 1983]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Penalty for leaving litter.
(1) If any person throws down, drops or otherwise deposits in, into or from any place in the open air to which the public are entitled or permitted to have access without payment, and leaves, any thing whatsoever in such circumstances as to cause, or contribute to, or tend to lead to, the defacement by litter of any place in the open air, he shall be guilty of an offence, unless that depositing and leaving was authorised by law or was done with the consent of the owner, occupier or other person or authority having control of the place in or into which that thing was deposited.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above, any covered place open to the air on at least one side and available for public use shall be treated as being a place in the open air.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(4) In sentencing a person convicted of an offence under this section, the court shall have regard not only to the purpose of the section in preventing the defacement by litter of places in the open air, but also to the nature of the litter and any resulting risk (in the circumstances of the offence) of injury to persons or animals or of damage to property.
(5) In England and Wales, without prejudice to the powers of any other person, a litter authority shall have power to institute proceedings for an offence under this section committed within their area or on land controlled or managed by them.
(6) In subsection (5) above, ‘litter authority’ includes the Greater London Council.
(7) In Scotland, an offence under this section may be prosecuted in any court of summary jurisdiction within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 having jurisdiction in the place where the offence was committed.
2 Publicity regarding penalty for leaving litter.
2. A local authority, with a view to promoting the abatement of litter, may take such steps as the authority think appropriate for making the effect of section 1(3) and (4) above known to the public in their area.
3 Grants for publicity discouraging litter.
3. The Secretary of State may with the consent of the Treasury make grants to any body for the purpose of assisting the body to encourage the public not to deface places by litter.
4 Consultations and proposals for abatement of litter.
(1) In England and Wales, it shall be the duty of—
(a ) the council of each county and the other litter authorities whose areas are included in the county, and
(b ) where the county includes land in a National Park without a Park board, the National Park Committee for that Park,
to consult from time to time together, and with such voluntary bodies as they consider appropriate and as agree to participate in the consultations, about the steps which the county council, each of the other litter authorities, the National Park Committee (if any) and each of the bodies are to take for the purpose of abating litter in the county; and it shall be the duty of the county council—
(i) to prepare and from time to time revise a statement of the steps which the council, each of the other litter authorities, the National Park Committee (if any) and each of the bodies agree to take for that purpose, and
(ii) to take such steps as in their opinion will give adequate publicity in the county to the statement, and
(iii) to keep a copy of the statement available at their principal office for inspection by the public free of charge at all reasonable hours.
(2) Subsection (1) above applies to Greater London and the Greater London Council as it applies to a county and the council of a county.
(3) In subsection (1) above, ‘litter authority’ includes a parish meeting but not a joint body.
(4) In Scotland, it shall be the duty of—
(a ) the council of each region, and the district councils of which the districts are included in the region, to consult from time to time together, and with such voluntary bodies as the regional council and the district councils consider appropriate and as agree to participate in the consultations, and
(b ) the council of each islands area to consult with such voluntary bodies as the council consider appropriate and as agree to participate in the consultations,
about the steps which the regional or islands council and each of the bodies with which they consulted (including, in the case of a regional council, each district council) are to take for the purpose of abating litter in the region or, as the case may be, islands area; and it shall be the duty of the regional or islands council—
(i) to prepare and from time to time revise a statement of the steps which the regional or islands council and each of the bodies agree to take for the purpose,
(ii) to take such steps as in their opinion will give adequate publicity in their area to the statement, and
(iii) to keep a copy of the statement available at their principal office for inspection by the public free of charge at all reasonable hours.
(5) The Secretary of State may by order repeal or amend any provision of—
(a ) any local Act (including an Act confirming a provisional order) passed before 31st July 1974 (the date on which the Control of Pollution Act 1974 was passed), or
(b ) any order or other instrument made under an Act so passed,
if it appears to him that the provision is inconsistent with, or has become unnecessary or requires alteration in consequence of, any provision of this section.
5 Litter bins in England and Wales.
(1) A litter authority in England and Wales may provide and and maintain in any street or public place receptacles for refuse or litter (in this section referred to as ‘litter bins’).
(2) It shall be the duty of a litter authority in England and Wales to make arrangements for the regular emptying and cleansing of any litter bins provided or maintained by them under this section or under section 185 of the Highways Act 1980 ; and such an authority shall have power to cleanse and empty litter bins provided in any street or public place by them or any other person.
(3) The regular emptying mentioned in subsection (2) above shall be sufficiently frequent to ensure that no such litter bin or its contents shall become a nuisance or give reasonable ground for complaint.
(4) In any place where a litter bin may be provided or maintained under this section or under section 185 of the Highways Act 1980, a litter authority may put up notices about the leaving of refuse and litter, and for that purpose may, subject to the provisions of this section, erect and maintain notice boards.
(5) Subject to section 13 of the City of London (Various Powers) Act 1971 (which empowers the Common Council of the City of London to affix litter bins), a litter authority shall not have power under this section to place any litter bin or any notice board—
(a ) on any land forming part of an open space as defined in the Open Spaces Act 1906 which is provided by or under the management and control of some other litter authority or a parish meeting, without the consent of that authority or meeting, or
(b ) on any other land not forming part of a street, without the consent of the owner and of the occupier of that land.
(6) The powers conferred by this section shall only be exercisable with the consent of the persons mentioned in the Table in paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to this Act, and paragraphs 2 and 3 of that Schedule shall have effect in relation to those consents.
(7) A litter authority may sell refuse or litter removed by them from any litter bins.
(8) A litter authority may not, under this section, do anything that is unlawful under the law relating to ancient monuments or to town and country planning.
(9) Any person who wilfully removes or otherwise interferes with any litter bin or notice board provided or erected under this section or section 185 of the Highways Act 1980 shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.
(10) The court by which a person is convicted under subsection (9) above may order him to pay a sum not exceeding 20 as compensation to the litter authority concerned, and any such order shall be enforceable in the same way as an order for costs to be paid by the offender.
(11) This section applies to a receptacle provided under section 76 of the Public Health Act 1936 or section 51 of the Public Health Act 1961 as if it had been provided under this section.
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