The Finnish government on Thursday submitted a proposal to Parliament to ban the dumping of ploughed snow into the sea.
A ban of the practice, which would require an amendment of the Environmental Protection Act, is part of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's (NCP) government programme.
Dumping collected snow into the sea is not very widespread in Finland, but the practice is common in Helsinki and some other municipalities. However, other coastal cities like Oulu and Turku, dump their ploughed snow on land.
The problem with dumping collected snow into waterways is that a large amount of other materials — including trash, cigarette butts and microplastics from car tyres — also end up being tossed in.
If the proposal is approved, there will be a three-year period before the ban goes into effect.
Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via this link. Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained here.