Near a forest barely 20 kilometres from Paris, an impromptu landfill covering more than 16 hectares is just one of many illegal waste dumps polluting the outskirts of the French capital. The industrial waste is dumped by polluters evading garbage disposal fees.
Toufik Bouallaga, a volunteer at a local citizen’s collective, is visibly disturbed as he walks across an illegal dump filled with plastic tubs, asbestos sheets and metal waste. “It breaks my heart, knowing this could have been a place for kids to go on walks … this is a forest … it’s sickening,” he explains.
Legal waste disposal in France can cost up to 115 euros per tonne for industrial refuse while illegal dumping can cost as little as four euros per tonne.
It's a lucrative business for illegal operators, one that is causing enormous environmental damage since the fermentation of the trash produces methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas.
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