FRANCE
The French government will force tobacco companies to help get rid of cigarette butt pollution unless they hey take voluntary action in the next three months.
Brune Poirson, junior environment minister, said, “If no effective commitments are proposed by September, the government will force the industry to get involved in the collection and elimination of its waste.” According to Poirson, the ministry estimates 30 billion butts are thrown away in France every year, of which more than 4 in 10 end up on beaches, in forests, rivers, and the sea. She also said a single filter can contaminate hundreds of liters of water because of the chemical substances it contains and can take more than a decade to decompose.
Though the government has not said what measures it might impose, a government official has said mandatory recycling scheme was an option.
“The ministry will not be brutal on the method but will be firm on the objectives. Pollution is major, so the commitments cannot be minor,” the official said.