In a bid to crack down on the fly tippers and illegal dumpers who are sullying public spaces and natural hotspots across the region, municipalities such as Saint Tropez and Gorbio in hills above Monaco have started setting up strategically placed surveillance cameras to monitor affected areas and track down those behind the anti-social and damaging acts. 

Every year, an estimated million tonnes of rubbish that could have otherwise been recycled or properly disposed of finds into way into the natural environment of France.  

Flying tipping, the act of illegal dumping waste on public or private property, has become such a serious problem for some municipalities in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region that they have decided to make a stand – and try to catch the perpetrators in the act.  

Combatting the problem

In Gorbio, a small village to the north of Menton, the problem has been increasing in recent months, leading the town council to spend a not-insignificant amount of public funds on 16 video cameras to monitor concerned parts of the commune.  

A special unit attached to the police and dedicated to combatting fly tipping has also been set up in Menton to tackle its localised problem.  

Meanwhile, the Council of Saint Tropez is believed to have spent €20,000 on a system similar to Gorbio’s. The cameras have been erected in three known illegal dumping sites, as well as near communal waste collection points in order to monitor the correct disposal of rubbish. A common issue in Saint Tropez is the piling up of waste near to, but not actually inside, collection bins. So far, the popular seaside resort has reportedly caught 50 culprits.  

If a person is caught fly tipping, the national standard fine for a successful conviction is €1,500.  

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Photo source: Markus Spiske, Unsplash