Alabama Criminal Littering Law

Alabama Code Title 13A Criminal Code, Chapter 7, Article 2

• AL Code § 13A-7-29

For purposes of criminal littering, litter means the following (§ 13A-7-29(b)):

• Rubbish
• Refuse
• Waste material
• Garbage
• Dead animals or fowl
• Offal (animal organs)
• Paper
• Glass
• Cans
• Bottles
• Trash
• Scrap metal
• Debris
• Plastic
• Cigarettes
• Cigars
• Containers of urine
• Food containers
• Rubber tires
• Any foreign substance

Any agricultural product in its natural state that a person unintentionally deposits on a public highway, road, street, or public right-of-way is not litter for purposes of § 13A-7-29.

A person commits criminal littering if they do any of the following:

• Knowingly deposit litter on any public property, private property, or in public or private waters without permission to deposit it there. (§ 13A-7-29(a)(1))
• Negligently deposit glass or other dangerously pointed or edged objects on or adjacent to water that the public has lawful access to for bathing, swimming, or fishing. (§ 13A-7-29(a)(2))
• Negligently deposit glass or other dangerously pointed or edged objects on or adjacent to a public highway or within the right-of-way. (§ 13A-7-29(a)(2))
• Discharges sewage, oil, or litter into a river, lake, or stream within Alabama or the territorial waters of the state. (§ 13A-7-29(a)(3))
• Throws or drops litter (or permits someone to throw or drop it) on or alongside a highway, road, street, or public right-of-way and does not immediately remove it (or cause someone to remove it). (§ 13A-7-29(a)(4)(a)
• Removes a wrecked or damaged motor vehicle from a highway but does not pick up other substances from the vehicle that could injure someone (e.g., glass and other injurious substances). (§ 13A-7-29(a)(4)(b))

It is not a defense that the person who littered did not intend or was unaware of the act charged. (§ 13A-7-29(c))

The crime of criminal littering is a Class B misdemeanor. Upon conviction, the following criminal penalties apply:

First conviction: $500 fine

Second or subsequent conviction:

• A $1,000 fine and up to 100 hours of community service of picking up litter or
• A fine between $2,000 and $3,000. (§ 13A-7-29(d)(1))

If the person convicted of criminal littering littered any of the following, an additional fine of $500 per violation applies (§ 13A-7-29(d)(2)):

• Cigarettes or cigars
• Containers of urine
• Food containers

State law does not authorize a county license inspector or solid waste officer to take a person into custody for criminal littering unless the inspector or officer is a law enforcement officer employed by a law enforcement agency. (§ 13A-7-29(h))