The collaborative platform “Zero Wild Waste” recently released a classification of the waste most found in nature in Franceusing data from 2,800 collection operations and 427 tonnes of waste collected by several hundred structures in mainland France and overseas.
Butts in the lead
The top of the ranking is not really surprising, as the sight of cigarette butts on the ground is so common in our French streets. Indeed, cigarette butts constitute the most common waste nationallyrepresentative more than 70% of the total with up to 50,000 cigarette butts collected during certain collection operations. According to the report in question, these are present in all environments and are extremely impactful for French ecosystems.
Glass bottles are arriving in second position of classification, followed by plastic bottles, metal caps or pull tabs, cans, plastic caps and food packaging and containers. Plastic bags complete this top 10 of collected waste.
Overall, plastic, rubber and metal are the materials most found during waste collections in different environments. For example, plastic represents more than half the volume collected on the coast (nearly 60% in coastal lagoons) and rubber almost 42% of the volume found in rural areas. Metal is much more present in the marine environment (more than 42% of the total) but also in the mountainous environment.
In town, these are notably plastics which are the most collected (38.8% of the total volume), followed by metals (16,3%) et paper/cardboardwhich represent 12% of the total volume of waste in urban areas. It is also in this environment that cardboard and paper are most present.
Three economic sectors pose a problem
In this report, it is also specified that nearly 80% of the objects found in the natural environment and whose sector could subsequently be identified are from three main economic sectors. Tobacco is of course present, followed by food and the sector of cosmeticswell-being and body care.
According to the Zero Wild Waste platform, the food sector has generated the majority abandoned waste polluting weakened ecosystems. Food packaging, beverage waste, canned goods, etc. are in fact particularly present in many natural and urban environments and symbolize the very significant impact of the food sector on the world around us.
According to the authors of the report, it is therefore essential to put in place prevention and source reduction actions in these three economic sectors in order to reduce the quantities of waste that can then end up in different environments. Of the changes in practices are also necessary, as are the establishment of a true circular economywhich consists of producing goods and services in a sustainable manner by limiting the consumption and waste of resources and the production of waste.
The solutions are in fact numerous according to the platform, such as for example the return to water fountains, which would limit the plastic bottles too present in nature, or the localized deposit but also the fact of encouraging reuse.
The Zero Waste Sauvage network, however, put forward a certain note of hope, having actually observed a decline in certain plastic waste in recent years such as bags, cups, cotton buds or straws. These are in fact less and less present in French circles following the gradual ban on these single-use plastics.
