Plastic, cans, cigarette packets and cigarette butts… That’s all the contents of the municipal sweeper which ended up in the river water. In Puget-Théniers, in the north-west of the Alpes-Maritimes, the town hall has apparently gotten into the habit in recent years of getting rid of its waste by evacuating it directly from the banks of the Var, which crosses this town of less than 2,000 residents. The current mayor Pierre Corporandy, departmental president of the Association of Rural Mayors, his predecessor Robert Velay, a municipal councilor and three community agents are called to explain this before the Nice criminal court.
The six defendants are all being prosecuted for “throwing or abandoning waste in large quantities into surface or underground waters or into sea waters”. They each face up to two years of imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros. The France Nature Environnement Paca association has become a civil party and denounces these actions for “sensitive natural environments”.
“Catastrophic and irreversible consequences”
The investigation was launched last February after an inspection by the French Biodiversity Office (OFB). A municipal agent was caught dumping the contents of the municipal sweeper into the river. A habit developed for more than ten years, according to testimonies collected by the gendarmes and the OFB. The town hall employees in charge of cleanliness explained that they were “only following the directives of their hierarchy”, no waste management system being planned.
According to France Nature Environnement Paca, “312 tonnes of waste were thrown into the Var, flowing directly, in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, into the Mediterranean Sea and its banks”. “The consequences are catastrophic and irreversible” for this “area classified as Natura 2000”, regrets the association. She recalls that “a significant part of the colossal global plastic production thus escapes” collection systems and ends up in natural environments, polluting soil and aquatic environments.
A hearing, scheduled for this Tuesday afternoon before the Nice criminal court, should be postponed to a later date.