Parking or littering?

LimerickGray

mind wandered today while looking out the window. There was a kid throwing an empty drink can on the road and also a person parking a scooter. Why is one of these deemed littering? Similar scenarios surely? Would it be too far an abstraction to call parking a car lettering also?

You know my wandering days are over. Lol

Mrs OBumble

The owner of a car or scooter will be back to move it along sooner or later. The owner of the soft-drink can won't.

We assign some public space for storing personal property, and also persons (eg schools, hospitals) because of the overall benefits of transport, education, healthcare etc to society.

LimerickGray

Could the intention to return be used as a defence then against littering? ‘. can one litter without intent?

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989272#Comment_120989272

You can indeed. The littering offence is in Litter Pollution Act 1997 s. 3:

No person shall deposit any substance or object so as to create litter in a public place or in any place that is visible to any extent from a public place.

"Litter" is defined in s. 2:

“litter” means a substance or object, whether or not intended as waste . . . that, when deposited in a place other than a litter receptacle or other place lawfully designated for the deposit, is or is likely to become unsightly, deleterious, nauseous or unsanitary, whether by itself or with any other such substance or object, and regardless of its size or volume or the extent of the deposit;

So, it doesn't matter whether you intend whatever you are depositing to be waste; all that matters is whether it is, or is likely to become, unsightly, deleterious, etc.

"Deposit" is also defined:

“deposit”, in relation to a substance or object that can constitute litter in respect of any place, means to throw, drop, dump, abandon or discard the substance or object, as the case may be, or allow it to escape or be released in or into the place;

LimerickGray

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989461#Comment_120989461

I have seen people in the district fined for littering for putting posters on lampposts or walls etc.

I know a vehicle is not within the intended meaning of litter but it’s not too far a stretch to call parking a car “abandoned and object” as per above definition. Should we see more littering prosecutions?

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990458#Comment_120990458

"Abandoned", in relation to property, doesn't just mean "left unattended"; it means left in circumstances which indicate that you no long wish to assert any rights of ownership over the property. A parked car can, in time, become an abandoned car if nobody ever returns to collect it and it gradually deteriorates to a point where it is no longer motorable.

Allinall

Completely off topic, but I've just learnt a great new word.

Motorable.

Although I think it was misused in the above post.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/motorable

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990458#Comment_120990458

Fly-postering is the usual term for what you saw people fined for.