(1) Any person who deposits, throws, discards, or otherwise disposes of any litter on any public or private property or in any waters commits the offense of littering unless:
(a) Such property is an area designated by law for the disposal of such material and such person is authorized by the proper public authority to so use such property; or
(b) The litter is placed in a receptacle or container installed on such property for such purpose.
(2) The word litter as used in this section shall mean all waste material susceptible of being dropped, deposited, discarded, or otherwise disposed of by any person upon any property in the state but does not include wastes of primary processes of farming or manufacturing. Waste material as used in this subsection shall mean any material appearing in a place or in a context not associated with that material's function or origin.
(3) Whenever litter is thrown, deposited, dropped, or dumped from any motor vehicle or watercraft in violation of this section, the operator of such motor vehicle or watercraft commits the offense of littering.
(4) A person who commits the offense of littering shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor. A person convicted of the offense of littering for the second time shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor. A person convicted of the offense of littering for the third or a subsequent time shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor.