Is It Illegal To Toss Food Out Of Your Car Window In Montana?
I'm sure you've seen many time either in movies or real life when someone tossing a banana peel, apple core, and old sandwich, or even an old coffee out of the window getting rid of it for good.
There's the argument of it being biodegradable, animals will find it for a snack, and it's "not technically littering" speech. It all pretty much makes sense when you think about it.
Have you ever thought about whether it's illegal or not?
I mean, if you are in a rush one day, you finish eating a banana, and you toss it out of the window out to the side of the road, Can a patrol car legitimately pull you over for littering?
Are there exceptions to certain refuse that is biodegradable?
Well, no.
In Montana it is in fact illegal to throw anything out of a vehicle with intent to discard it to the outside world.
Montana code 61-8-366 states that:
A person may not throw or deposit upon a highway glass bottles, glass, nails, tacks, wire, cans, plastic bottles, plastic, paper, or any other debris. A person may not throw or deposit upon a highway any substance likely to injure a person or animal or damage a vehicle upon the highway.
You night ask yourself why it applies when you do not see food in rules. I'm thinking that food falls under the "any other debris" category and can be an offense worth pulling someone over.
The rules also state "highway" but it's a safe bet that it applies to in-town and in neighborhoods.
Fines can get up to $250 dollars for littering. So it might be worth holding onto it until you get to a trash reciprocal.
"Interesting" Montana laws - Part Two