“Stop throwing things on the ground,” says swimming coach and environmental activist Philippe Lucas

Adopt “simple gestures would already be huge”, explains swimming coach and environmental activist Philippe Lucas on the occasion of World Cleanup Day. And “Above all, stop throwing things on the ground, cigarette butts, anything… Take the time to put them in a trash can, sort your waste!”

Laure Manaudou’s former coach often has the opportunity to observe the pollution in white water with the swimmers he supervises, “whether in lakes, in rivers or at sea and especially at sea”. In the oceans in particular, “there are 17 tonnes of waste per minute arriving in the sea”.

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For Philippe Lucas, there is more important awareness work to be done among younger people: “Instead of giving courses in middle schools, in high schools, which sometimes do not serve much purpose, we should educate young people for at least half an hour a week, to explain what is happening, what you have to do and especially what you shouldn’t do. I think that would be something that would be essential and very interesting.”

Saturday September 16, Philippe Lucas, with his Team Lucas Sport Planète, is organizing a collection operation on the beaches of Marseille. From the first minutes, the observation is worrying: “Cigarette butts, beer cans, soda cans, papers, anything and everything. All around me, there are people with gloves and bags picking up, picking up, picking up . Bags are already filled.”