Littering has become a “chronic issue” in France, according to an organisation set up more than 20 years ago to tackle the problem – and some individuals are even making money from it.
The police and gendarmerie recorded 44,832 offences linked to littering in 2023, a 15% increase on 2020, according to a report in Le Figaro. That amounts to 120 offences a day, not including instances that go unpunished.
More than one in four people admit to throwing rubbish out their window while driving on the motorway and 41% of French residents have admitted littering the streets or public places, revealed a 2023 study carried out by Ipsos and published by Vinci Autoroutes.
“Today, déchets sauvages (littering) is a chronic issue and our society is addicted to plastic. Litter and plastic can be found absolutely everywhere in France,” said Florian Cornu, manager of overall coordination, deployment and leadership for Zéro Déchet Sauvage.
'Everyone is to blame'
A large part of the organisation’s remit is to identify rubbish. It gathers data from clean-ups to know the volume and weight of the litter but also what brands and materials are most common and where the hotspots are.
The information is made publicly available to help understand and quantify the problem and efficiently target the main contributors.
There is, however, some cause for optimism. Mr Cornu explained that there have never been as many litter pick-ups in France as today, with tens of thousands people participating through the Zéro Déchet Sauvage platform alone.
However, while people are becoming more aware of the problem, there is still considerable progress to be made. Mr Cornu wants to see better education about it at school and for it to be tackled at both a corporate and individual level.
“Businesses like to blame individuals, while individuals refuse to make the effort if businesses are polluting on such a large scale with no punishment.
“Both are to blame for the problem and both need to improve at the same time, through education and legislation.”
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One area that France struggles with is plastics.
“Compared to countries like the UK, we are late in terms of banning plastics at the source and stopping companies from using them in the first place,” said Mr Cornu.
“However, France is good at banning single-use plastics such as straws or cutlery.”
Alexandre Brochet, a councillor in Choloy-Ménillot (Meurthe-et-Moselle), estimates it costs the 47 villages in his area €220,000 a year in disposal and treatment. For big agglomerations, these costs are necessarily much higher.
He is a partner in a firm which developed an app to report fly-tipping, and said that the main problem in his area is building site waste – often dumped by small companies to avoid paying for proper disposal.
'Return to sender'
Some mayors are taking the matter into their own hands and returning dumped rubbish directly to its owners. Christophe Dietrich, the mayor of Laigneville, a small town north of Paris, has been tackling littering for around 10 years.
In 2014, when he became mayor, there were around three or four significant dumps per week.
Frustrated by the time and cost dealing with it, he decided to track down those responsible. At first, he simply collected evidence and then presented the case to the relevant authorities.
“However, because we were cleaning up the rubbish, no further action was taken in any of the cases,” he told The Connexion.
In November 2014, he performed his first ‘return to sender’, which was picked up by the media but had little effect. Three years later he posted footage of one on social media, which soon went viral and spread the word.
He is very careful about the legality of his actions, insisting that if there is “even 1% of doubt” over who was responsible the rubbish is not returned. He also takes his personal safety, and that of his employees, very seriously.
Culprits are called to the service technique (place where the rubbish would be taken to), where the offending waste is dumped at their feet to dispose of properly. They also have to pay €250 per square metre of rubbish collected and a fine of €135.
The problem has gone from three or four cases a week to one or two a year, said Mr Dietrich, hailing the tactic a great success.
“What I am most proud of is raising awareness among the local population as that is what really makes a difference,” he said.
Read more: French households throw out more rubbish despite ‘incentive’ bin fees
Harsher fines for littering could also deter people from doing it, experts agree.
“If the fine was €1,000 for dropping off a mattress in a forest, then I am sure it would stop happening very quickly,” said Mr Brochet.
Mr Cornu echoed this sentiment. “In France, to get fined for tossing away a cigarette butt or chewing gum takes quite an effort, whereas in some other countries fines are handed out more readily.”
Cross-border dumping
The latest problem? Litter trafficking.
In January, nine men were sentenced to prison for up to five years for their role in illegally moving rubbish from Belgium to France.
The men were part of a scam which included charging companies in Belgium for the disposal of their waste at up to €250 a ton, before dumping it all in clearings, wasteland, and abandoned military camps in France.
Ocleasp (Central office for combating attacks on the environment and public health) estimated that between 2019 and 2021 this sort of trafficking was worth €1.9million.
How you can help
Mr Cornu suggests looking for local litter pick-ups on social media or via websites such as Zéro Déchet Sauvage. This, he said, can be a fun, social activity.
You can also sign up to platforms such as depotsauvage.fr to help track illegal rubbish dumping by posting photos of it, plus the location, online. Perpetrators often return to the same spots, so surveilling them can help identify and punish those responsible.
There are other ways that you can report litter, such as by contacting the local police or the mairie.
While limiting your own waste as much as possible is a crucial step, Mr Cornu added that coordinated, informed action at a local level, involving mairies and local actors, will have a much larger positive impact.
