A gesture that many do without thinking about it – throwing a butt or bottle from the window – from today it can cost thousands of euros and even prison. With the decree-law of 8 August 2025, n. 116, which entered into force on August 9, Italy has exacerbated sanctions for those who abandon waste from a vehicle, focusing on zero tolerance and cameras as a new control weapon.
The modification to article 15 of the highway code now allows you to use images of any video surveillance system – public or private – as direct test. There is no longer any more to stop the offender at the moment: just a recovery that shows the vehicle and the launch of the refusal. The local police can trace the owner and notify the fine even days later.
The severity of the sanction depends on the type of refusal:
For crimes, the license can be suspended of up to 6 months. If the vehicle is corporate, confiscation is possible, unless the owner proves to be foreign. The business owners can be held responsible for omitted vigilance, with penalties up to 5 and a half years.
The measure aims to hit a gesture that is not only uncivilized, but dangerous. As Luigi Altamura, commander of the Local Police of Verona and Anci contact person for viability Italy, recalled: “A refusal launched by a car can affect a motorcyclist or cause chain accidents. Furthermore, it can cause serious environmental damage”. A butt can trigger fires; A plastic bottle can reach rivers and contribute to pollution from microplastics.
The government focuses on record fines, prison and video surveillance to stop a rooted habit. It remains to be understood if the threat of so important sanctions will be sufficient to change the behavior of those who, so far, have considered that gesture as “normal” and without consequences.
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