Starting next year the fine for throwing a cigarette butt in Brussels will be increased from 50 to 200 euros, according to the mayoralty of the Belgian capital.

The city's cleanliness office is launching a plan to raise awareness among smokers, install urban ashtrays, as well as to launch a project for the utilisation of  cigarette butts via pocket ashtrays, the service said.

Hard measures are explained by the municipal authorities with the fact that almost one third of the municipal waste collected by the municipal services are cigarette butts.

It takes 15 years for a  cigarette butt to decompose and also contains many toxic substances. The mayor states that only one cigarette butt can contaminate 500 liters of water.