§ 16-91. Litter.

(a)

No person shall drop, deposit, discard, or otherwise dispose of litter in or upon any public property or private property of another person within the county, except when the litter is properly disposed of in a public collection container, a litter receptacle provided for public use, or a solid waste management facility.

(b)

No person shall operate any motor vehicle on any street or highway unless such motor vehicle is constructed and loaded to prevent any of its load from dropping, sifting, leaking, spilling, or otherwise escaping; provided, however, that sand or any substance used to increase traction, or water or other substance used to control dust, may be applied on a roadway in the cleaning or maintaining of such roadway by a state or local government agency having such responsibilities.

(c)

Any motor vehicle transporting litter or other items likely to fall or be blown from such motor vehicle shall be enclosed, covered, or secured with a close-fitting tarpaulin or other appropriate cover or load securing device to prevent its contents from blowing, dropping, or falling from such vehicle, as provided in subsection 16-8(g), above.

(d)

The following presumptions shall apply in the enforcement of this section, but shall be rebuttable by competent substantial evidence:

(1)

Any person generating, transporting, or receiving litter shall be responsible for ensuring that such litter is managed, stored, handled, transported, and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(2)

When a violation of any provision of this section has been observed by any person, and the litter dumped or disposed of on a highway, right-of-way, property adjacent to a highway or right-of-way, private property, or body of water has been ejected from a motor vehicle or vessel, that fact shall constitute prima facie evidence that the owner or operator of such motor vehicle or vessel was the person who ejected the litter.

(3)

Any article of litter bearing a person's name or address, found on the private property of another or on public property, shall constitute prima facie evidence that the litter is the property of such person whose name or address appears thereon, and it shall constitute prima facie evidence that such person dumped or disposed of such article of litter.

(e)

All law enforcement officers shall enforce the provisions of this section. Employees of the county parks and recreation department and solid waste department, and county code inspectors, are authorized to issue citations and initiate prosecutions under this section.

(f)

Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be cited as follows:

(1)

Civil penalties: Any person who litters in violation of this article is guilty of a noncriminal infraction, punishable by a civil penalty of fifty dollars ($50.00) for the first violation, two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for the second violation and five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the third violation.

(2)

Criminal penalties:

a.

The fourth and all subsequent violations of the provisions of this article shall constitute a misdemeanor of the second degree and shall be punishable by:

1.

Five hundred dollars ($500.00) fine; and/or

2.

Imprisonment of up to ten (10) days and/or community service time as prescribed by the Florida Litter Law, section 403.413, Florida Statutes.

3.

Both such fine and imprisonment and/or community service time, all as prescribed by the Florida Litter Law.

b.

Any person who dumps litter exceeding fifteen (15) pounds in weight or twenty-seven (27) cubic feet in volume, but not exceeding five hundred (500) pounds in weight or one hundred (100) cubic feet in volume and not for commercial purposes, is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in sections 775.082 or 775.083, Florida Statutes.

c.

Any person who dumps litter in an amount exceeding five hundred (500) pounds in weight or one hundred (100) cubic feet in volume, or in any quantity for commercial purposes, or dumps litter which is a hazardous waste as defined in section 403.703, Florida Statutes, is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in sections 775.082 or 775.083, Florida Statutes.

d.

Imposition of such fine shall not include costs imposed by the court and shall not prohibit a judge from imposing civil penalties which would include, but not be limited to, picking up litter or performing other labor commensurate with the offense committed. The moneys collected from the assessed fine shall go into the general revenue fund of Marion County to be used for litter control.

(g)

Subject to the limitations contained herein, the solid waste department collects litter from the public right-of-way of collector and arterial roads maintained by the county transportation department. The solid waste department also collects solid waste from illegal dumping on such roads. The solid waste department is not responsible for collecting litter or solid waste on other roads or private property. The administrator may authorize the solid waste department to collect litter on public roads and public property when required for the public health, safety and welfare. The extent and frequency of such activities are subject to the county's budgetary constraints and weather conditions.

(h)

Subject to the limitations contained herein, the county solid waste department may remove and dispose of litter, junk, and solid waste that was illegally dumped on a public right-of-way or other public property and then collected by a civic or community organization during a community clean-up project. The extent and frequency of the county's activities in support of a community clean-up project are subject to the county's budgetary constraints and other factors. Although the county supports community clean-up projects, the county does not remove or dispose of materials collected during a clean-up on private property.

(Ord. No. 07-35, § 1 (§ 16-63), 12-12-2007)