Flemish dump 5 kilos of litter on the streets per year

Thursday 5 April 2007

Every Flemish person dumps 5 kilos of waste onto the streets and into public litter bins. Most of the waste is recycable. Packaging accounts for more than half of that rubbish and cans and plastic bottles form the bulk of it. This emerged from a survey carried out in 85 municipalities by the Flemish member of parliament Hilde Crevits (CD&V).

Municipalities with a population of less than 20,000 spend EUR 37,000 a year on clearing rubbish. Towns with more than 200,000 residents dedicate 2,800 hours a week to clearing streets of litter at a cost of EUR 2.2 million a year.

Almost all municipalities impose fines in an attempt to curb the dumping of waste and street litter, ranging from EUR 13 to 620, depending on the nature of the waste. The municipalities are however not satisfied about the sanctions as they are not having the desired effect. It is often difficult to catch people red-handed in the act of dumping.

Crevits wants to investigate whether public waste bins might actually encourage littering in the streets. “For now, OVAM, the agency responsible for waste policy in Flanders, is not able to measure litter separately. Separate statistics could make for interesting reading. Crevits is considering rewarding municipalities that keep separate statistics.

Subject: Belgian news