{"id":18913,"date":"2025-11-14T19:10:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T18:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/?p=18913"},"modified":"2025-11-14T19:10:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T18:10:32","slug":"brussels-waste-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/18913\/brussels-waste-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Brussels Waste Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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‘It’s shameful that the capital of Europe still uses such a medieval system”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How Brussels is fighting its trash problem<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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\n Author:<\/strong> \n Allart van Middendorp<\/span>\n <\/p>\n \n

\n 14 November 2025\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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BRUSSELS \u2013 The Brussels Capital Region is launching a major, coordinated crackdown on illegal dumping as the problem reaches critical levels. Armed with the authority to tear open suspect garbage bags on the street, mixed control teams are now hunting for evidence to identify and fine violators in a coordinated operation known as the ‘Triathlon de la Propret\u00e9’.<\/p>\n\n\n

The numbers paint a clear picture. In 2024, regional sanitation agency Bruxelles Propret\u00e9 cleared nearly 5,200 tons of illegally dumped waste. That is a spike of more than 20 percent compared to the previous year. For the City of Brussels alone, processing this illegal waste costs \u20ac2.5 million annually.<\/p>\n\n

Citizen complaints tell a similar story. Through the digital platform Fix My Street, the City of Brussels registered 13,852 cleanliness complaints in just the first half of 2025. Over 11,000 of those were about illegal dumping. The trend is alarming. Complaints have surged from 18,175 in 2022 to 29,717 in 2024.<\/p>\n\n

The city’s official stance, as articulated by spokesman Andreas De Kerpel, is one of defiance. “Brussels isn’t dirty, it is being dirtied,” he states, placing the blame on violators rather than a failing system.<\/p>\n\n

\n “Brussels isn’t dirty, it is being dirtied.”\n
\n — Andreas De Kerpel, City of Brussels<\/cite>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

The Waste Tourist Phenomenon<\/h3>\n\n

Behind the surge lies a stark economic reality. “A roll of waste bags in Brussels costs about \u20ac2,” explains Andreas De Kerpel, spokesman for the City of Brussels’ Alderman for Public Cleansing. “In the surrounding regions, that price can be between \u20ac15 and \u20ac25.”<\/p>\n\n

This price gap has turned the capital into a dumping ground for commuters from Flanders and Wallonia. The data backs this up. Of the 4,800 fines issued by the City of Brussels in 2024, 857 went to individuals living outside the Brussels region entirely.<\/p>\n\n

Jonatan de Staerke, a waste inspector with Bruxelles Propret\u00e9, sees this phenomenon daily. “People from outside Brussels come and place their bags in the Brussels region,” he explains during a control operation in Forest. “Where I live, one bag costs \u20ac3.50. Here in Brussels, if I’m not mistaken, a roll costs \u20ac2.50. So the difference from one bag to a roll of ten bags, the difference is there.”<\/p>\n\n

Fines and Enforcement Teams<\/h3>\n\n

The response has been swift and severe. Between January and September 2025, the City of Brussels issued \u20ac749,550 in fines for illegal dumping alone. Penalties are substantial. They range from \u20ac500 per cubic meter for household waste to \u20ac1,000 for hazardous materials.<\/p>\n\n

The enforcement mechanism is the ‘Triathlon de la Propret\u00e9’. This is a three-phase operation combining identification, public awareness campaigns, and aggressive enforcement. At the heart of this strategy are mixed teams of municipal and regional inspectors who systematically search through illegally dumped bags for evidence.<\/p>\n\n

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