The French are paying a high price for Switzerland’s clean living as rubbish from across the border is dumped in their bins, The Times says.

Rubbish containers in border areas are overflowing with bags left by cars with Swiss numberplates, which are often making trips to France’s cheaper supermarkets.

The furtive dumpers are driven by a steep bin bag tax that the Swiss government imposed in 2012 to cover the cost of refuse disposal. The levy comes on top of local rubbish collection taxes.

The French customs officers are concentrating on rubbish rather than smugglers of drugs and fake luxury goods. Last year 140 Swiss entering the Franche-Comté region around Besançon were fined for bringing in ten tonnes of refuse.

The culprits must pay €150.