French Government Raises Litter Fines to €750 as Plastic Waste Piles Up in the Sea

There could soon be "more masks and plastic bags than jellyfish in the waters of the Mediterranean". says French Minister

FRANCE announced on Sunday that it plans to hike up fines for dropping litter on the streets to a maximum of €750 as images of surgical masks and gloves floating in the ocean surface surfaced.

Brune Poirson, a junior minister for the environment, said the fine would increase from €68 to €135 and the penalty will rise to as much as €750 depending on the severity. The French government’s announcement came just a day ahead of World Oceans Day and a week after an environmental NGO sounded the alarm over a new type of waste piling on top of the longtime plague of plastic pollution.

“Plastic waste linked to the Covid-19 crisis reminds us that if we want clean oceans, it starts with clear pavements,” she wrote on Twitter.

Plastic in the ocean

Marine plastics: At least eight million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year and make up 80 per cent of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Marine species ingest or are entangled by plastic debris, which causes them severe injuries and in a lot of cases – death.

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Tony Winterburn

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