                                 LITTER  [ CAP. 206.         1
CHAPTER 206 
LITTER ACT
To make provisions for the abatement of litter.
(27th February, 1968) *
Enacted by ACT VIII of 1968, as amended by Acts: LIII of 1975, III of
1978, XIII of 1983 and XIX of 1984.
Short title.
Interpretation.
"Malta" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by section 124
of the Constitution of Malta;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for public health;
"place in the open air" includes any covered place open to the air
on at least one side and available for public use.
Leaving of litter.
into or from any place in the open air to which the public are
entitled or permitted to have access without payment, and leave,
anything whatsoever in such circumstances as to cause, contribute
to, or tend to lead to, the defacement by litter of any place in the
open air, unless such depositing and leaving was lawfully
authorized.
Deposit of refuse 
for collection.
4. No person shall deposit and leave in any place in the open
air any dustbin, used box, bottle, tin, carton or other container, or
any paper, straw or other material used for packing, for the purpose
of its collection unless such depositing is made at a time reasonably
approximate to, and before, the time at which refuse collection
ordinarily occurs in such place.
Sorting of refuse.
deposited for collection at any place or while being transported
after collection.
Unlawful removal 
of receptacle, etc. 
6. No person shall unlawfully remove or otherwise interfere
with any receptacle for litter provided by the Government in any
street or other public place or any dustbin deposited for collection
at any place.
Constitution of 
Public Cleansing 
Advisory 
Committee. 
Amended by:
III. 1978.2.
7. (1) There shall be a Public Cleansing Advisory Committee
(hereinafter referred to as "the Committee"), which shall be
composed of the Superintendent of Public Health, or his
representative, as chairman, and of the representative of the
Minister of tourism, the Commissioner of Police or his
representative and the Director of Public Works or his
representative, as members. The Minister may also appoint to sit on
the Committee, under such terms and conditions as he may
determine, such other persons as shall appear to him to be fit.
* See  Government Notice No. 161 of the 27th of February, 1968.
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(2) It shall be the duty of the Committee to advise the Minister
on any matter relating to public cleansing and on any other matter
which may come within the scope of this Act.
Standard dustbin. 8. (1) The Minister may by order prohibit the depositing of
any refuse in any place for collection unless in one or more covered
dustbins of such material, size and construction as approved by the
Superintendent of Public Health.
(2) Any such order may refer to the whole of Malta or to any
one or more localities thereof, and it may be limited to certain
categories of premises only.
(3) Any order made under this section may be followed by
another amending, deleting or substituting any previous order. 
(4) Any such order shall come into effect after the expiry of
one month from its publication or at such later date as the Minister
may establish.
Penalties. 
Amended by: 
LIII. 1975.2; 
XIII. 1983.5; 
XIX. 1984.2.
9. (1) If any person contravenes any of the provisions of this
Act, other than section 4, or contravenes any order made under
section 8 hereof, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable,
on conviction, to a fine ( multa ) of not less than ten liri.
(1A) If in an offence to which subsection (1) of this section
applies an offender dumps refuse, swill or litter of such size or in
such quantity or accumulation as, taken by itself, is sufficient to
lead to defacement of any place in the open air, he shall be liable,
on conviction, to a fine ( multa ) of not less than five hundred liri but
not exceeding one thousand liri.
(2) If any person contravenes the provisions of section 4 of this
Act, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on
conviction, to a fine ( multa ) of not less than five liri.
(3) If any vehicle has been used in the commission of an
offence against the provisions of section 3 of this Act, the court
shall, at the demand of the prosecution and in addition to the
punishment prescribed under subsections (1) and (1A) of this
section, order the sequestration of such vehicle for a term of not
less than two months but not exceeding one year and the suspension
for an equal term of any driving licence held by the offender,
during which period the vehicle shall be at the risk of the owner:
  Provided that where any person who has not participated in the
offence, has a claim to such vehicle the sequestration shall only be
ordered if the court is satisfied that no such claim is thereby
prejudiced.
(3A) If the offender is not the owner of the vehicle mentioned in
subsection (3) of this section but has acted under the instructions of
such owner or where such owner had the power to prevent the
commission of the offence does not do so, the owner shall be liable,
on conviction, to the punishment laid down in subsections (1), (1A)
and (3) of this section.
(3B) If the circumstances, in which any unlawfully dumped
material is found, indicate the owner or other person responsible
                                 LITTER  [ CAP. 206.         3
for such material immediately prior to its dumping, such owner or
person shall be deemed to have deposited that material and shall be
liable to the punishment laid down in subsections (1), (1A) and (3)
of this section, unless he proves that he did not know of the
commission of the offence, or although he knew of it did not have
the power to prevent it.
(4) When any person has been found guilty of an offence
against the provisions of section 6 of this Act, the court may, by the
same judgment, and on proof of the damage suffered, order the
offender to pay to the owner of the receptacle or dustbin in
question, by way of damages, a sum not exceeding ten liri, and any
such order shall be of the same force and effect and be executed in
the same manner as if it had been given in a civil action duly
instituted between such owner and the offender.
Special procedure 
in certain cases. 
Added by: 
III. 1978.3. 
Amended by: 
XIII. 1983.5.
10. (1) Notwithstanding any other law providing for the trial
and punishment of offences, where any person commits an offence
against any of the provisions of this Act or of any order made
thereunder, the following provisions of this section shall apply.
(2) Any Police officer and any Health Inspector in whose
opinion any such offence has been committed may hand over to the
offender a notice containing a general description of the offence.
(3) Where any notice has been handed over as is provided in
subsection (2) of this section, the person referred to in the said
notice may pay at the Department of Health in Valletta or at
Victoria, Gozo, within seven days, a fine of five liri in respect of
each offence referred to in each such notice.
Cap. 9.
(4) Where any fine imposed under subsection (3) of this section
is not paid within the aforementioned period, ordinary proceedings
in respect of the offence may be taken in accordance with the
provisions of this Act and of the Criminal Code.
(5) The payment of any such fine shall, for all intents and
purposes of law, be deemed to be an admission of the commission
of the offence.
Power to make 
regulations. 
Added by: 
XIX. 1984.3.
10A.   The Minister may make regulations for the better
enforcement of the provisions of this Act, and without prejudice to
the generality of this provision, may:
( a ) prescribe areas where dumping of refuse or waste may
lawfully be carried out;
( b ) prescribe conditions or manner subject to which any
aforesaid activities may be lawfully carried out;
( c ) prescribe the manner in which locally produced swill
may be collected and disposed;
( d ) provide for any matter incidental or supplementary to
any of the foregoing provisions;
( e ) prescribe the penalties for any contravention against
any regulations made under the provisions of this
section, which penalties shall, unless a higher
punishment is provided therefor in this Act, not exceed
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a fine ( multa ) of one hundred liri for each offence.
Power of court to 
order removal of 
litter. 
Added by: 
XIX. 1984.4.
10B.   Where the offence relates to dumping, the court shall in
addition to any penalty which may be imposed in accordance with
this Act, also order the offender to remove from the place where the
offence has taken place all the material, in respect of which he is
found guilty, within a time sufficient for the purpose, to be fixed by
the court, and that in default of compliance with that order such
material be removed by the Police at the expense of the offender, in
which case he may be made to refund the expense as a civil debt.
