It’s the Law: Read it and Sweep

It is unlikely that any Rye resident or visitor will be dropping litter from an aircraft over Rye anytime soon, but, if they did, they would be violating the City Code 157/Sanitary Regulations, Article XI, which specifically prohibits such an offense.

Judging by the amount of street litter in town on any given day, people are far more likely to toss litter while walking or driving through town. Shameful, yes, but according to the City Code, violators who are foolish and messy enough to litter here are also subject to a $100 fine or 30 days in jail, or both.

Litter is an all-encompassing term as defined by the City Code, referring not only to nearly useless parking meter receipts or that coffee cup someone meant to deposit in a receptacle, but also refuse, garbage, and rubbish. Most of us might think these terms all mean the same thing. Not so. You can read about the differences at: http://ecode360.com/6973985.

In part, the Littering Code states: “No person shall throw or deposit litter in or upon any street, sidewalk, or other public place within the city except in public receptacles, in authorized private receptacles for collection or in any official city dump.”

The Code continues:

“The owner or person in control of any private property shall at all times maintain the premises free of litter.

Persons owning or occupying places of business within the city shall keep the sidewalk in front of their business premise free of litter.

No person shall throw or deposit any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon any sidewalk, street or public place within the city.”

Of course, the best way to prevent litter in Rye is for people not to create it; however, once it’s there, it should not be beneath any of us to pick it up and place it in a receptacle. Better yet, perhaps local students or others seeking to perform community service could periodically organize cleanup patrols around town, making a clean sweep.

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