A manager from Alsace has been sentenced for polluting water with 30,000 tons of plastic waste. The case involves a waste processing company called Locacil, located in Feldkirch, Upper Rhine. On September 2, the manager, Florent Schreiber, received an eighteen-month prison sentence with probation for polluting two water basins and a watercourse. The company also faces a fine of 50,000 euros, in addition to 1,050 euros in other penalties. The prosecutor had initially charged the company and its manager with ecocide, a term used for severe environmental damage, but the Strasbourg correctional court reclassified the charges as "pollution by discharge of waste having caused substantial consequences for the environment." Between 2018 and 2025, Locacil improperly handled around 31,000 tons of plastic shavings—materials like those from electrical cables—to recover and sell copper. Despite being placed under judicial control in March 2020, nearly 30,000 tons of these materials remain stored at the site. The waste includes PVC and polyethylene, which can release microplastics into water. Copper concentrations in the surrounding environment have been found to be 230 times higher than legal limits per kilogram. Cédric Fagot, a judicial expert specializing in aquatic environments, explained that these levels are comparable to those found in copper mines, indicating a massive environmental contamination. The court has ordered the site to be restored by March 2030, with the decontamination process estimated to cost 11.4 million euros. To help fund the cleanup, two buildings owned by Schreiber and 9,000 euros from his accounts have been seized. However, his lawyer, François Zind, noted that the value of the seized assets is likely to be only around 1 million euros. The question remains: how will the remaining costs be covered?