Littering

The offense of improperly disposing of trash, debris or other waste in a public place or on another's property rather than through an authorized waste disposal method, generally punishable by a fine and, for a larger quantity or a repeat violation, by a more substantial penalty including community service or, in some jurisdictions, a misdemeanor charge. Most countries and, within federal systems such as the United States, most individual states and municipalities maintain their own littering statute or ordinance, commonly enforced through a fixed-penalty ticket issued by a police officer, park ranger or sanitation officer. Littering is treated in environmental and public-order law as a lesser offense than illegal dumping, which typically involves a substantially larger volume of waste, a commercial or industrial source, or hazardous material, and which most jurisdictions punish considerably more severely than an ordinary littering violation.