Littering

It is against the law to litter. If any member of the Diamond A community observes littering and can identify the person(s) responsible for the littering, the activity should be reported to the California Highway Patrol.

"Litter" means the discarding, dropping, or scattering of small quantities of waste matter ordinarily carried on or about the person, including, but not limited to, beverage containers and closures, packaging, wrappers, wastepaper, newspapers, and magazines, in a place other than a place or container for the proper disposal thereof, and including waste matter that escapes or is allowed to escape from a container, receptacle, or package.

The punishment for documented first-time littering starts at a minimum $250 fine and eight hours of picking up roadside litter. A defendant's third offense and all subsequent offenses are punished with a maximum penalty of a $3,000 fine and 24 hours of litter cleanup (per offense).

To actively discourage littering, we advise all Diamond A property owners who contract with workers outside of Diamond A (either for construction or landscaping projects) to remind them of our desire to stop littering; the pdf cited below can be printed and shared with any and all work crews. The same strategy can be used to inform any other visitors to Diamond A.

For large objects discarded on the roadside, such as furniture, Diamond A Community members should use the SoCo Connect web site. Any user can create an account and then submit a service request. This application can also be used to report many other issues (a menu of choices is readily available on the application).

A printable pdf of the California law covering littering is available here.