Murewa Rural District Council (Anti-litter) By-laws, 2025
Littering in Murewa now carries a US$200 fixed penalty, dumping or abandoning litter US$200, and a business that fails to provide enough bins US$50 — payable in local currency at the interbank rate.
These anti-litter by-laws apply throughout the Murewa Rural District Council area. Owners and occupiers of premises must provide an adequate number of receptacles in and around their business area, and littering, sweeping waste into gutters, road reserves or culverts, and interfering with public litter bins are prohibited.
Unauthorised disposal or dumping is separately prohibited, and the council may require a person to take reasonable measures to prevent it. Articles reasonably regarded as abandoned — judged by where they are, how long they have lain there and their condition — may be removed and disposed of by the council, as may anything chained or fastened to a council pole or parking meter without authorisation.
Where waste accumulates on premises so as to create or risk a nuisance, the council may make a special removal and charge the owner or occupier the applicable tariff.
The fixed penalties are set in US dollars and may be paid in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate: US$200 for depositing litter in a public place, for sweeping waste into a gutter or culvert, for refusing to comply with an authorised person's instruction, and for depositing or abandoning litter in a public place; US$50 for failing to provide adequate bins or failing to pick up litter dropped in the course of business; and US$20 for disturbing or removing anything from a litter receptacle.
One drafting slip is worth noting: the enacting words cite "section 90 of the Insiza Rural District Councils Act" and the abandoned-articles section refers to the Plumtree Town (Abandoned Vehicles) By-laws, both evidently carried over from another council's by-laws. The operative provisions otherwise refer throughout to Murewa.
What changed
- Business premises must provide an adequate number of litter receptacles or face a US$50 penalty
- Littering, sweeping waste into gutters or culverts, and dumping each carry a US$200 fixed penalty
- Disturbing or removing items from a public litter bin carries US$20
- The council may remove abandoned articles and charge for special removal of accumulated waste
- Penalties are payable in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate
Who this affects
- Businesses and shop owners in Murewa district
- Residents and visitors in public places
- Property owners with accumulated waste
- Council environmental health officers
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.