The French consider their neighborhoods to be much cleaner than the rest of the country, which shows that attachment to one’s living environment has a direct influence on behavior and can curb incivilities.

While abandoned waste remains a major issue for quality of life and environmental preservation, the Gestes Propres association has unveiled the results of its very first national barometer on the subject.

Carried out in partnership with Ifop, this unprecedented study provides a better understanding of behaviors, perceptions and levers for action in the fight against these everyday incivilities.

In this interview, Gestes Propres looks back at the key findings of the survey and the actions planned to bring about a lasting change in practices.

Question 1: Could you introduce yourself and explain the background to this study on abandoned waste?

Gestes Propres is a public interest association that has been taking action against abandoned waste for over 50 years. As part of our mission, we are used to carrying out studies to understand behavior and adapt our awareness-raising actions to reduce the amount of waste abandoned in public, urban and natural spaces.

With this barometer, we’ve taken the next step: setting up a regular, nationwide measurement of behavior. The Ifop teams carried out this survey in September 2025 among 2,001 people representative of the French population, with a clear objective: to track changes in behaviors – both good and bad – as well as preconceived ideas, which have a strong influence on practices.

Based on declarative data, this barometer also evaluates perceptions linked to the notion of cleanliness and respect for our environment.

This first wave confirms three findings:

• Litter-related incivilities remain among the most shocking,
• the phenomenon is highly visible on a national scale,
• but abandonment practices persist, with 35% of French people declaring that they have thrown away at least one piece of waste during the year.

This barometer is now our benchmark for guiding our actions and objectifying trends.

Question 2: The French consider littering to be much less visible in their neighborhoods than in French cities in general (whether it’s “packaging” waste, large items of garbage or cigarette butts).

How do you think this lesson could be applied to encourage good behavior?

This perception gap is a powerful lever: the French consider their neighborhoods to be much cleaner than the rest of the country, which shows that attachment to one’s living environment has a direct influence on behavior and can curb incivilities.

What we observe in the field points in the same direction.

This is what led us to create the “Because this is our home” system, made available to local authorities as an open source tool, to promote this exemplary local approach and reinforce the local preservation reflex.

The study also highlights two other important levers:

• 58% of French people already pick up garbage left behind by others. This confirms that there is a base of civic commitment that needs to be made more visible, to reinforce collective responsibility and encourage positive practices.
• 68% would refuse to throw away waste in the presence of someone close to them, and 76% in the presence of a child. This dimension of social pressure is decisive, and deserves to be more fully integrated into our communication initiatives to encourage good behavior.

These findings converge: the more citizens feel connected to a place and observed by their community, the more they adopt virtuous behavior.

Question 3: In the light of the findings of this study, what follow-up action do you envisage? What levers would you like to activate to step up the fight against waste dumping?

The results show three major issues: preconceived ideas are still very much present (86% make at least one mistake from a non-exhaustive list of preconceived ideas); a significant proportion of people abandon waste (35% have thrown away at least one piece of waste over the course of a year); and major differences between regions.

This leads us to 3 major orientations:

• Reinforce education to correct preconceived ideas that fuel bad habits;
• Support local authorities with local, customizable campaigns and, more generally, turnkey tools;
• Amplify citizen mobilization, by promoting positive behavior and supporting initiatives such as waste collection operations.