Types of Litter Violations

LITTER means all waste material, except as provided and defined in R.S. 30:2173(2), including, but not limited to, disposable packages, containers, sand, gravel, rubbish, cans, bottles, refuse, garbage, trash, debris, dead animals, furniture or appliances, automotive parts, including, but not limited to, tires and engines, trailers, boats and boating accessories, tools and equipment and building materials, or discarded materials of any kind and description.

The term “litter” shall not include “agricultural products” that are being transported from the harvest or collection site to a processing or market, if reasonable measures are taken to prevent the agricultural product from leaving the transporting vehicle. The term “agricultural product”, as used in this definition, means all crops, livestock, poultry and forestry, and all aqua cultural, floricultural, horticultural, silvicultural and viticulture products.

The term “litter” also shall not include recyclable cardboard being transported in compressed bundles to processing facilities.

Within the active littering classification, several categories exist; Simple or unintentional littering, intentional littering, gross littering and commercial littering.

Simple or Unintentional Littering (Civil) - Includes litter blown out of a trucks, cars, trailers or boats and careless disposal that results in litter due to “uncovered” or “secured” loads.

Intentional Littering (Criminal) – intentional disposing or permitting the disposal of litter upon any public place, upon private property not owned by him, upon property located in rural areas not owned by him, or in or on state waters, whether from a vehicle or otherwise, including but not limited to any public highway, public rights-of-way, public park, beach, campground, forest land, recreational area, trailer park, highway, road, street or alley, except when such property is designated by the state or by any of its agencies or political subdivisions for the disposal of such litter and such person is authorized to use such property for such purpose.

Includes motorist discarding litter out of windows, pedestrians dropping litter on the street or footpaths, discarding soft drink and beer cans as other litter out of boats into waterways.

Gross Littering (Criminal) – Includes the illegal disposal of items such as household/office furniture, appliances, tires, automotive parts, etc.

Commercial Littering (Civil) – Includes commercial litter that is blown or falls from a truck or vehicle, mud from tires, uncontrolled building waste.

Littering of Waters (Criminal) – It shall be unlawful for an operator, passenger, crew member, or any person on board any vessel to intentional discharge, discard, and permanently abandon into the water of the state any type of finished plastic products, including but not limited to synthetic ropes, fishing nets, and garbage bags, or to intentionally discharge, discard and permanently abandon litter or other garbage, including but not limited to paper products, glass, metal, dunnage, lining and packing materials.