According to a survey conducted by the county, 700 people identified “excessive garbage and litter” as one of their top five challenges related to tourism in the county.
At Tuesday’s Prince Edward County council meeting, council took a step towards mitigating the issue by amending its littering by-laws.
Under the new by-laws, anyone caught littering can be given either a Part I or a Part III ticket. In the case of a Part I ticket a person can be fined $500 for a first offence, $700 for a second and $1,000 for a third, the difference being there isn’t a need for a witness.
In the case of having a witness, officers can instead give a Part III ticket which means a court summons and a fine of up to $10,000 on a first offence with subsequent offences being no more than $50,000.
The by-law changes also take aim at drive-thru and take-out restaurants.
The rules now state that any drive-thru or take-out restaurant must have appropriate and visible signage indicating that the maximum fine for littering is $10,000 and that they must also maintain appropriate areas for garbage disposal.
