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Rubbish

Millions more homes in France to face ‘pay to throw extra’ bin fees

Penalties are planned for more households whose bin is collected more than a set number of times per year

French AI system can see inside bin bags: what is it being used for?

The technology uses a camera to detect anomalies, and is already used by 45 communes

French households throw out more rubbish despite ‘incentive’ bin fees

Schemes like ‘pay-per-bin’ do not encourage people to reduce general waste, say campaigners

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Dordogne residents ready for court battle over ‘incentive’ bin charges

The new rubbish collection fees do not convince people to reduce waste but do increase fly tipping, say campaigners

Bordeaux to enforce rules on noise and anti-social behaviour

A new team will show that ‘living here requires a minimum of civic-mindedness’, the mayor says

Binman collects 14 tons of rubbish walking from Paris to Marseille

Dumped items included 20,000 cans, bottles filled with urine or laughing gas, Covid masks and… Christmas tinsels

‘Ten recycling bins in Belgium was easy compared to French system’

‘Why is it so difficult to recycle in my village?’ wondered writer Samantha David, so she rang the council to ask them

French homeowners challenge ‘pay per bag’ waste charge

Residents are preparing a legal challenge to a new waste collection charge that, they say, penalises the elderly and people with disabilities

How do I dispose of out-of-date medicines in France?

Throwing medicines down the sink or toilet or in the rubbish is discouraged as it can cause pollution

Waste collection tax rises: How is your area of France affected?

The average increase is 2.2%, but some towns are bringing in rises of more than 40%

Environment news round up in France this May

Rennes bans grass clippings at tips, Lyon bans polluting fireplaces and more

Plus belle to poubelle: My walk through Paris’ rubbish-filled streets

The French capital’s bin collector strike has left the city looking and smelling like a landfill, writes Théophile Larcher

Paris mayor kicks up a stink over bid to end bin collectors’ strike

As 7,000 tonnes of uncollected rubbish litter Paris’ streets, the government wants to force striking bin collectors to go back to work

How to get a déchetterie permit in France with a UK-registered car

We look at how second-homeowners can visit their local tip without a ‘carte grise’ for their vehicle - or a hire car

Historic Dordogne streets too small for new card-swipe rubbish bins

‘Old town’ areas must pay more for door-to-door collection leading to claims of urban discrimination

France lockdown: Which attestation box for the déchetterie?

Rubbish tips ( déchetteries ) are open during the lockdown

One million tonnes of litter dumped in France in 2020

The amount was almost double that of two years before, a new NGO report claims. Roadside areas are the worst affected with lockdown takeaway rubbish adding to the problem

New French anti-waste law ‘is doomed to failure’

MPs are set to discuss a new anti-waste law this autumn to improve France’s record as one of the poorest recycling countries in Western Europe

Marseille beaches covered in waste after storms drag rubbish into sea

Yesterday’s heavy rain caused large amounts of waste and rubbish to be carried away, as it had been left on the streets due to the ongoing bin worker strike

French town imposes minimum €1,000 fine for dog mess or littering

The mayor of Obernai said ‘enough is enough’ and introduced the minimum fine for anyone caught illegally dumping rubbish, especially dog mess. He has called on other mayors to do the same

Limoges: Campaign makes a crime scene out of fly-tipping

Instead of taking away rubbish, officials in the city in southwest France will leave it on display surrounded by police tape

France must crush illegal fly-tipping, says stand-up comedian

Jean-Yves Sayag, now a waste management councillor, is calling for a change in the law after recently exposing a 50-hectare site near Aix-en-Provence

Surprise fly-tipping find for mayor in northeast France

What the Grand-Est mayor saw allowed him to identify who had dumped the rubbish

New 'pay as you throw' rubbish system rolled out in France

A new waste collection payment system is being gradually introduced to residents in one department of France – the more bags you throw out, the more you pay.

French motorways: 30% of public admit to littering on roads

A third of people in France admit to throwing waste out of car windows while on the motorway, says a new poll, as motorway firm Vinci Autoroutes launches an anti-littering campaign ahead of a busy driving weekend.

New app aims to fight illegal waste dumping in France

Residents in France are invited to download and use a new app that aims to combat fly tipping and the illegal dumping of waste in nature and beauty spots.

Binman suicide after sacked for drinking beer gift

Update: Statement issued by collection firm Coved on June 12

French supermarket Leclerc criticised for plastic use

French supermarket giant Leclerc has been chastised for its excess use of plastic on a pack of hard-boiled eggs, with a junior minister saying that a new “anti-waste” law would stop such “aberrations” in future.

Rubbish on Paris streets as treatment centres strike

Rubbish is piling up in the streets of Paris as pension strikes continue at incineration centres, causing a backlog of waste, and a “very worrying” amount of rubbish being buried instead of burned.

France gets ‘illegal waste’ sent back from Malaysia

France is one of four developed nations set to have its allegedly illegal plastic waste “sent back” on some of the 150 shipping containers ordered by Malaysia this week.

French mayor ‘returns’ 10 tonnes of illegal waste

A man in northern France who illegally dumped 10 tonnes of rubbish in a local field has had the items returned by the mayor less than 48 hours later.

Bordeaux drains painted in cigarette butt waste alert

A team of artists in Bordeaux is painting drain grates and manhole covers to raise awareness of how much dropped cigarette butts contribute to river pollution.

French mayor returns Christmas rubbish to owners

A mayor in Brittany has become the latest official to send an illegally-dumped pile of rubbish back to its owner.

New app for reporting issues in Paris sparks criticism

A new smartphone app from the Mairie of Paris is enabling residents to report problems around the city, despite criticism that it is encouraging “denunciation” behaviour.

Meet the bin that treats its own rubbish

A robot, intelligent rubbish bin that sorts and crushes cans, bottles and throwaway cups could help businesses and cafeterias clean up after customers – and boost recycling.

Government fights France’s growing fly-tipping problem

A government group has been created to tackle the growing issue of fly-tipping in France, which sees people dumping over 80,000 tonnes of excess waste into nature every year.

Paris pledges to halve landfill waste by 2030

Paris has joined 22 other cities and regions in pledging to reduce its waste by half by 2030, as part of a global project named “Coalition C40 Cities”.

Fly-tippers may get the bill in France

Anyone caught fly-tipping or illegally dumping rubbish could face fines of €450 plus a bill for clean-up costs as mayors can order them to clear the mess or pay to have this done.

Homeowner in French town takes revenge on bad tenants

A homeowner in a small French town has received overwhelming support after he dumped a lorry full of rubbish and old furniture left by his former tenants, in front of their new property.

Hérault deploys drones to guard against fly tipping

The Hérault department is deploying drones to guard against the growing problem of fly tipping and to protect the biodiversity of the region, with fines of up to €75,000 possible for offenders.

More and more Swiss are dumping rubbish in France

French communes are fighting back as the number of Swiss residents crossing into France to dump their rubbish across the border continues to increase.

Town clamps down on litter and fly-tipping

Anyone who leaves bags of rubbish on streets faces fines of €368 in capital of Drôme

Coastal clean-up groups also help to trace polluters

Volunteers regularly clean up debris from France’s beaches along the Channel and Atlantic coasts but several also try to trace the origin of the tonnes of rubbish and, perhaps, work to stop it.

150,000 meals saved from the bin

A phone app has saved more than 150,000 meals from the rubbish bin as it allows shops to publicise short-dated food and residents to buy it cheaply before it is thrown out.