By Tony Winterburn • Published: 08 Jun 2020 • 11:24
There could soon be "more masks and plastic bags than jellyfish in the waters of the Mediterranean". says French Minister
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.
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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