The fine for a cigarette butt thrown to the ground will increase from the beginning of next year in the Belgian capital to 200 euros, the Brussels City Hall said on Saturday.

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The severity of the measures taken by the city authorities is explained by the fact that almost a third of the garbage collected by public services on the streets is exactly cigarette butts. Moreover, decomposition of these wastes requires up to 15 years, they contain many toxic substances (lead, arsenic, nicotine, carcinogens).

The city hall also notes that only one cigarette butt can pollute up to 500 liters of water. “It slowly but surely pollutes and kills the seas,” the city’s authorities emphasized..