Environmental protection in France in many aspects coincides with that in Poland. As we know, Poles attach great importance to such things as waste segregation or energy saving. But what does it look like in France? We’re about to find out. In this article, we will try to compare and analyze both countries in terms of efforts for our better tomorrow. At the end of the post you will find an interview with a resident of the town of Frejus in France, who talks about her perspective of environmental protection in the country.
• The first topic we want to raise is waste segregation. Walking through the streets of French towns, it is not difficult to come across rubbish bins in 4 colors. They are used to segregate various types of waste. Yellow for metals and plastics, blue for paper, green for glass and black for mixed waste. This makes waste segregation much easier. France cares not only about the segregation of rubbish, but also about the cleanliness of the streets in the form of supplying them with garbage cans, e.g. for cigarette butts (photo below) or excrement of our pets. In Poland, the topic of waste segregation is equally popular and the streets are very similarly stocked.
• In France, compared to Polish, many more inhabitants use solar energy in the form of installing solar panels on the roofs of their own homes. In addition, numerous public appliances consume energy in the same way (parking meters, among others). In Poland, we have not seen the use of this type of technology in this way, and if it is much less common.
• The human body consists of 55-65% water, so it is very important in our daily lives. In order not to have to buy it every day in plastic bottles that decompose from 100 to even 1000 years, both France and Poland install water taps that allow you to refill your bottle or water bottle. In this way, they prevent the accumulation of unnecessary waste. Waterholes occur in places such as public institutions, e.g. schools (canteens, corridors or even gymnasiums). Water dispensers are available in both countries, but it is worth adding that in French restaurants we can ask for water, which we will receive for free and it will be tap water. In Poland it is not so popularized to serve tap water in a restaurant, if we ask for water, it will be paid and from a bottle.
• Already at a young age, the inhabitants of both countries are engaged to take care of the cleanliness and protection of the environment in which they live. For this purpose, various actions are organized, such as cleaning the world. During our stay at the French school „Comprehensive School Du Val D’argens” in the town of Le Muy, we learned from our peers that they also take part in similar events. High school students in the following week are to devote one school day to cleaning the premises of cigarette butts and other accumulated garbage.
• It is worth remembering that these are not all ways to protect the environment on a daily basis. There are still many ways and activities that both Poles and French use in everyday life. But in this blog we compared the ways we were able to notice during our 2-week stay on the Côte d’Azur. Countries make a similar contribution to environmental protection.
We invite you to listen to a short interview with a resident of the town of Frejus in France, who talks about her perspective of environmental protection in the country.
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