Fast food packaging, bottles filled with urine, cigarette packs, but also household appliances and even asbestos sheets!
It is the sad inventory of waste that the agents of the Interdepartmental Roads Directorate constantly pick up on the side of the national roads or the motorways that cross Normandy.
And unfortunately, the phenomenon has only worsened in recent years: last year, agents collected an average of nearly 1.5 tonnes of this waste per kilometer in Normandy.
An invoice of 300,000 euros for the taxpayer
“The impact is obviously considerable on the environment.
But it is also a risk factor for our agents.
First, because they are physically on the roads to collect this waste and, in addition, this waste itself can turn out to be dangerous.
For example, there are large quantities of cans, unlabeled, filled with substances whose nature is completely unknown… ”, deplores Benoît Hauchecorne, head of the service responsible for the maintenance and operation of Normandy's national roads.
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The institution as a whole therefore solemnly calls for the civic spirit of everyone. A warning that also targets professionals, because "part of this waste comes from poorly secured loads that fly off trucks and end up on the side", continues Benoît Hauchecorne. So much incivility or negligence that has a cost for the taxpayer. Each year, if only here in Normandy, these “cleaning” operations are estimated at 300,000 euros. "This is as much as we could invest in improving the network."