The Act Commentary on Sections Offence of dropping litter Section 18 Extension of litter offence to all open places
68.Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (“the 1990 Act”) makes it an offence to drop litter in a place in the open air to which the public are entitled or permitted to have access without payment, including any covered place open to the air on at least one side and to which the public has access. It also includes relevant land owned by local authorities, statutory undertakers, designated educational institutions and Crown land.
69.Section 18 extends the scope of that offence so that it becomes an offence to drop litter anywhere in the open air in the area of a principal litter authority, regardless of ownership. However, under this section it is not an offence to drop litter in a covered place open to the air on at least one side to which the public does not have access.
70.The offence extends to dropping litter into bodies of water, such as rivers or lakes. The area of a local authority which is on the coast extends down to the low-water mark under section 72 of the Local Government Act 1972. Therefore it becomes an offence to drop litter anywhere above the low water mark (and thus an offence to drop litter on beaches).
71.It does not extend the duty on principal litter authorities (and others) to keep their relevant land clear of litter and refuse as set out in section 89 of the 1990 Act.
72.The exceptions to the offence that are set out in section 87 of the 1990 Act are amended so that no offence is committed if the littering was authorised by law or done by or with the consent of the owner, occupier, or other authority or person having control of the area (subsection (4A)). Consent may only be given in relation to a watercourse, lake or pond if the same person owns all the surrounding land (subsection (4B)).