New campaign against illegal dumping amid rise in cleanliness complaints

Brussels' public hygiene department, Bruxelles Propreté, will launch a major awareness campaign in September to combat illegal dumping.

Illegal dumping and littering are more common in summer and autumn, in part because many people put their rubbish bags out before they leave for holidays, instead of on the day of collection as required.

Brussels Propreté spokesperson Etienne Cornesse told Bruzz said the organisation was working with municipalities to identify dumping hot spots, but that residents must also do their part when it comes to proper rubbish disposal.

“Our teams will do their part, but Brussels residents must also take more responsibility in the long term to curb the problem,” Cornesse said.

Brussels residents can use the app Fix My Street to report litter or illegal dumping. Anyone who submits a report can also request updates on its progress.

Since the app’s creation in 2013, almost 400,000 complaints have been registered there, with a large proportion of them regarding illegal dumping.

The City of Brussels alone has processed 14,000 complaints about public cleanliness via Fix My Street in just the last six months: 11,342 concerning illegal dumping, 1,147 related to non-compliant rubbish bags and 565 about overflowing or dirty rubbish bins.

There were also 457 complaints about abandoned materials such as traffic signs and construction materials, and 341 about illegal graffiti tags.

With 2,800 reports, March saw the most complaints so far, with May receiving the least with 1,987 reports.

Brussels alderman for public cleanliness Anas Ben Abdelmoumen (PS) encouraged residents to use the app for reporting issues in the city.

“We want to be immediately informed of cleanliness issues in our neighborhoods so that we can resolve them as quickly as possible,” Abdelmoumen said.