Littering
ORC 3767.32 — on foot, from a car, and in somebody else's dumpster
Ohio has two littering laws, and which one applies depends mostly on where the litter left from. One reaches anybody, anywhere: on foot, in a park, on somebody else's land or into a river. The other is written for the people in a car moving on a street, road or highway.
Who handles this in Ohio: Ohio State Bar Association lawyer referral; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
Intent does not matter. No person, regardless of intent, may deposit litter or cause it to be deposited on public property, on private property the person does not own, or in or on the waters of the state. Deposit means to throw, drop, discard or place, so setting a bag down and walking away from it is the same act as throwing it.
- A public official directed it, as part of a litter collection drive.
- It went into a litter receptacle in a way that keeps the weather from carrying it off.
- The person holds a permit or license covering that litter under the state's solid waste or water pollution laws.
Litter is defined as garbage, trash, waste, rubbish, ashes, cans, bottles, wire, paper, cartons, boxes, automobile parts, furniture, glass, single use and reusable cups, bags and containers, or anything else of an unsightly or unsanitary nature. The list is long on purpose, and nothing on it is excused for being small.
Somebody else's dumpster is littering too. No person without the privilege to do so may knowingly put litter in a trash can or dumpster on public property, or on private property the person does not own. The section allows it when the litter was made or found on that same property, when an official running a litter collection drive or someone the person reasonably believes has the right to use the container says to, when it is the ordinary trash of a car trip, such as cups, wrappers, a litter bag or an ash tray, and when it is what a passerby would ordinarily drop in during the day. Driving the household garbage to a store's dumpster is the thing it is written against.
From a moving car, the driver answers for the passengers. No operator or occupant of a motor vehicle may, regardless of intent, throw, drop, discard or deposit litter from a vehicle in operation on any street, road or highway, except into a litter receptacle. And no operator may allow litter to be thrown from the vehicle, so a driver can be cited for what a passenger tosses.
| Where it left from | The section | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Where it left fromOn foot, onto public land, somebody else's land, or the water | The sectionORC 3767.32 | What it isMisdemeanor of the third degree, and the court may order litter pickup instead or as well |
| Where it left fromInto somebody else's trash can or dumpster, without the right to | The sectionORC 3767.32 | What it isMisdemeanor of the third degree |
| Where it left fromOut of a car on a street, road or highway | The sectionORC 4511.82 | What it isMinor misdemeanor |
A misdemeanor of the third degree carries up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500. A minor misdemeanor carries no jail term in the misdemeanor sentencing section and a fine of up to $150. For the walking version, the sentencing court may order the person to remove litter from public or private property or from the water, in addition to the penalty or in place of it.
The walking version can be enforced by sheriffs and deputies, city and township police, wildlife officers, natural resources officers, forest fire investigators, conservancy district police and a county's inspector of nuisances, each within their own jurisdiction. A ticket for it can come from a game warden at a lake as easily as from a patrol car.
Dumping in bulk, such as tires or construction debris, also runs into the state's solid waste and water pollution laws, which are not covered here. Whether a particular citation fits the facts is a question for a licensed Ohio attorney.
Sources for this section (5)
- ORC 3767.32 — Depositing litter on public land, on land of another, or in the water
- ORC 4511.82 — Littering from a motor vehicle
- ORC 3767.99 — Penalties under the nuisance chapter, littering among them
- ORC 2929.24 — Definite jail terms for misdemeanors
- ORC 2929.28 — Financial sanctions for misdemeanors
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.