(a) The department shall designate one or more types and sizes of litter receptacles for use in the state. The department shall designate and make available for distribution throughout the state an anti-litter symbol of a uniform color and design adopted by the department. This anti-litter symbol must bear a statement of the penalties for littering and must be designed so that it may be attached to litter receptacles. To aid public recognition and use of litter receptacles, the department may adopt an anti-litter symbol used in another state. The person or agency responsible for the placement of litter receptacles located in public places of the state shall attach to those receptacles the anti-litter symbol designated by the department.
(b) Litter receptacles designated for use in the state by the department shall be placed at public places in the state unless the public place is specifically exempted by regulations adopted by the commissioner under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act). The number of receptacles required to be placed in each public place shall be determined by a formula related to the need for those receptacles. The requirements of this subsection are satisfied by the use of a litter receptacle which was in use before July 1, 1980, if the anti-litter symbol of the state is attached to the receptacle.
(c) A person owning or operating a privately owned public place at which litter receptacles are required under (b) of this section shall place litter receptacles at the public place at the person's own expense.
(d) Compliance with this section requires proper upkeep, maintenance and repair of a litter receptacle sufficient to permit the receptacle to serve the function for which it was designed and to prevent the receptacle from becoming unsightly.
(e) Responsibility for the placement of litter receptacles at publicly owned public places and for the removal of litter from those litter receptacles remains with the municipality or other public agency performing litter removal. Removal of litter from litter receptacles placed at privately owned public places remains the responsibility of the owner or operator of the privately owned public place.
(f) A person may not damage, deface, abuse, or misuse a litter receptacle not owned by the person so as to interfere with its proper function or to detract from its appearance.
(g) A person may not deposit leaves, clippings, prunings, garden refuse, or household waste materials in a litter receptacle without the permission of the owner of that receptacle.
(h) Except as provided in (i) of this section, a person who violates the provisions of (b) - (g) of this section is guilty of a violation, and, in addition to the punishment imposed by AS 12.55.035(b)(7), the court may order a person who violates this section to gather and dispose of litter in an area and for a length of time determined by the court.
(i) If a municipality of the state adopts an ordinance that prohibits the same conduct prohibited by (b) - (g) of this section, a violation of (b) - (g) of this section that occurs in the municipality is punishable under the provisions of the municipal ordinance if the punishment imposed under the ordinance is equal to or greater than the punishment imposed by AS 12.55.035(b)(7).