A protective mask thrown to the ground (illustration). - Steve Bisgrove / REX / SIPA

Throwing waste on the public highway, a mask or a cigarette butt can be punished with a fine of 135 euros, against 68 euros currently, according to a draft decree, announced this Sunday the Secretary of State for the Brown Ecological Transition Poirson.

This draft decree, which concerns masks, gloves, cigarette butts and even wild refuse dumps, should be presented in mid-June. The fine could even go up to 375 euros, or even 750 euros if the police draw up a report and forward it to the court, according to the ministry.

"Any waste thrown on the ground often ends up in the ocean"

This measure is part of the roadmap for the circular economy launched in 2018 and "finds a new echo with the Covid-19, with the multiplication of the number of new abandoned waste linked to the health crisis" instead to be thrown in the trash, said the ministry. "Everyone must understand that any waste thrown on the ground often ends up in the ocean," said Brune Poirson, in a statement sent to AFP.

"If we want clean seas and oceans, it starts with clean sidewalks," said the Secretary of State, who is going to Lège-Cap-Ferret, Gironde this Sunday, on the eve of World Oceans Day. , for a collection of plastic waste.

The ministry also plans to intensify its communication campaigns to encourage people not to throw the garbage anywhere.

Planet

Citizen collection, fines, prevention ... How to manage masks and other new waste linked to Covid?

Planet

Deconfinement: Single-use masks and gloves, new pollution that worries

  • Video
  • Pollution
  • Covid 19
  • Waste
  • Planet
  • Coronavirus