Why do over a quarter of French people throw rubbish out their car window?
Results of a recent survey show that people in France are much less environmentally friendly when heading off on holiday. Every day, 25 tons of rubbish are collected along the country's motorways.
With the French in the middle of their grandes vacances highway workers are facing a difficult few weeks.
That's because over one in four people in France (28 percent) have admitted to throwing rubbish out their car window, according to results of the the seventh edition of an annual survey from Ipsos for the Fondation Vinci Autoroutes.
Although the positive news is that represents a fall of two percentage points compared to the previous year.
The Fondation Vinci Autoroutes launched a tongue-in-cheek awareness campaign on Friday, claiming, "In France, one in four drivers suffers from littermania" or jettomanie in French.
En France, plus d’1 conducteur sur 4 est #jettomane.
Et vous ?
P.-S : Heureusement, il existe un remède. pic.twitter.com/6WwkAOUPaG
— Fondation VINCI Autoroutes (@FondationVA) July 30, 2021
Perhaps the figure should not come as a surprise - according to the same study, 40 percent of people in France admitted to littering in the street.
The study claims that French people suffer from complacency during the summer holidays.
VIDEO: French-British duo walk 880km picking up face mask litter
"Although recycling is one of the most common environmentally friendly actions, French people are less exemplary when they're away from home," the foundation wrote in a press release. 72 percent of people said they always recycled at home, while only 58 percent maintained the habit on holiday.
#cleanwalk avec l'association Unis pour le climat de Compiegne. Des tas d'ordures au bord de l'autoroute. "Pour une ville impériale, comme précisée sur le panneau de l'A1, cela fait mauvais genre" Alors Anna et les autres ont décidé de remonter leur manche pic.twitter.com/pdUYMa0C6R
— fanny dollé (@dollefanny) December 30, 2018
Throwing cigarette butts out the car window is a particularly pernicious practice. Earlier this month, a forest fire ravaged 850 hectares (2,100 acres) of woodland in the Aude département in the south of France. Local authorities said it was "unfortunately very likely it was a cigarette butt" that caused the fire, which began near the A61 motorway.
The French government has recently taken steps to combat the increase in littering linked to the Covid pandemic, such as people dropping face masks on the ground. Last year, the fine for littering increased from €65 to €135.
If you spot a case of fly-tipping, you should contact your local mairie (town hall). The environmental group Association France Nature Environnement also has a mobile app called “Sentinelles de la Nature" ("Nature Guardians"), which allows residents to highlight rubbish that has been dumped in natural areas, and the association will contact the authorities.
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With the French in the middle of their grandes vacances highway workers are facing a difficult few weeks.
That's because over one in four people in France (28 percent) have admitted to throwing rubbish out their car window, according to results of the the seventh edition of an annual survey from Ipsos for the Fondation Vinci Autoroutes.
Although the positive news is that represents a fall of two percentage points compared to the previous year.
The Fondation Vinci Autoroutes launched a tongue-in-cheek awareness campaign on Friday, claiming, "In France, one in four drivers suffers from littermania" or jettomanie in French.
En France, plus d’1 conducteur sur 4 est #jettomane.
— Fondation VINCI Autoroutes (@FondationVA) July 30, 2021
Et vous ?
P.-S : Heureusement, il existe un remède. pic.twitter.com/6WwkAOUPaG
Perhaps the figure should not come as a surprise - according to the same study, 40 percent of people in France admitted to littering in the street.
The study claims that French people suffer from complacency during the summer holidays.
VIDEO: French-British duo walk 880km picking up face mask litter
"Although recycling is one of the most common environmentally friendly actions, French people are less exemplary when they're away from home," the foundation wrote in a press release. 72 percent of people said they always recycled at home, while only 58 percent maintained the habit on holiday.
#cleanwalk avec l'association Unis pour le climat de Compiegne. Des tas d'ordures au bord de l'autoroute. "Pour une ville impériale, comme précisée sur le panneau de l'A1, cela fait mauvais genre" Alors Anna et les autres ont décidé de remonter leur manche pic.twitter.com/pdUYMa0C6R
— fanny dollé (@dollefanny) December 30, 2018
Throwing cigarette butts out the car window is a particularly pernicious practice. Earlier this month, a forest fire ravaged 850 hectares (2,100 acres) of woodland in the Aude département in the south of France. Local authorities said it was "unfortunately very likely it was a cigarette butt" that caused the fire, which began near the A61 motorway.
The French government has recently taken steps to combat the increase in littering linked to the Covid pandemic, such as people dropping face masks on the ground. Last year, the fine for littering increased from €65 to €135.
If you spot a case of fly-tipping, you should contact your local mairie (town hall). The environmental group Association France Nature Environnement also has a mobile app called “Sentinelles de la Nature" ("Nature Guardians"), which allows residents to highlight rubbish that has been dumped in natural areas, and the association will contact the authorities.
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