Brussels has started cracking down on people not correctly sorting their rubbish and putting out their bins on the wrong days. Residents have received fines for these violations in a number of the capital's communes.
Brussels' rubbish collection service Bruxelles-Propreté has a general prevention policy – including the collection of people's rubbish bags and their large waste or construction waste upon request and informing people on how to properly recycle – however, it has in the past argued the measures it takes are not enough to keep streets clean.
It has therefore started punishing people who carry out an offence – such as putting bags out on non-collection days or hours, resulting in rubbish lying on the streets for longer than necessary or not sorting their rubbish properly – with heavy fines, through its officers and in collaboration with the police and the public prosecutor.
It either prosecutes the case before the criminal court or sends the file back to Bruxelles-Propreté, which then imposes an administrative fine, which can range from €50 to as much as €62,500. The majority of people are fined for not sorting their waste correctly.
Credit: The Brussels Times
A total of 40 people living in Ixelles were fined on Friday alone for not sorting their garbage or placing rubbish bins on the pavements outside the set times. The Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone carried out a rubbish bag control operation in the Brussels municipality on Friday, during which it searched approximately 1,650 kilograms of waste.
Overall, the actions resulted in 192 violations, with fines being handed out for people throwing cigarette butts or spitting in the street. Traffic was also closely monitored during the action, with dozens being fined for violating the Highway Code.
In Schaerbeek too, notices have been put up warning residents that people in certain streets have been fined for not putting out their bins at the allocated times.
