Secretary of State for Environmental Transition Brune Poirson will present Monday a charter to fight against plastic waste on beaches, which includes fifteen commitments.
"Today, 80% of marine litter comes from land and 75% of it is plastic waste," says the Ministry of Ecological Transition. "Single-use bags, packaging, butts are the most common waste in our oceans," the source said.
In 2016, France rejected 11,200 tons of plastic in the Mediterranean
The charter that Brune Poirson will present Monday morning on the occasion of a visit to a beach of Seyne-sur-Mer, in the Var, is declined in three levels, according to the number of engagements - from five to fifteen - taken by the coastal municipalities. These awareness-raising, prevention and pick-up actions consist of installing sorting bins or raising awareness among retailers located near the beaches to not distribute disposable plastic items.
The government has set a target of "zero plastics rejected at sea by 2025", which seems very ambitious while France has rejected about 11,200 tons of plastic in the Mediterranean in 2016, according to a WWF report.
The European Union has also decided to ban from 2021 single-use plastic products such as cotton swabs, straws, coffee taps, cutlery or plates.