The Brussels municipality of Jette wants to install solid rubbish bins from 2022 in its fight against ripped open trash bags on the streets, announced alderman for public spaces Mounir Laarissi.
Almost every week for over a year now, residents of Jette have been struggling with trash bags on their streets that have been ripped open by animals, which is a problem that needs to be tackled urgently, Laarissi told RTBF.
"Since the changing collection schedules at Bruxelles-Propreté, the rubbish bags in Jette are only collected in the afternoon, leaving them on the pavement for more than 20 hours in some neighbourhoods," he said.
"No wonder they are then ripped open by crows," Laarissi said, adding that the municipal services regularly have to do the work of Bruxelles-Propreté, the Capital-Region's waste management agency.
To solve the problem, Jette will follow the example of Uccle and Watermael-Boitsfort from 2022 and opt for hard rubbish bins on the streets.
"These will be placed in the most affected areas, as well as at the request of the inhabitants," Laarissi said. "In other municipalities, the intervention has already had a positive impact, and I expect the same for Jette."
Certain neighbourhoods are indeed dealt with at a later time now, due to the coronavirus crisis and the redeployment of teams, a spokesperson for Bruxelles-Propreté told La Dernière Heure.
"However, it is not unimportant to point out the importance of sorting out waste," they said, adding that it is mainly food waste that attracts animals.
"That belongs in the orange bag. For that bag, it is possible to request a rubbish bin, free of charge."
Additionally, sorting waste will become mandatory for Brussels inhabitants by 2023, meaning that food waste will no longer be allowed in the white bags.
"In the white bag, 40% to 45% of it is food," Bruxelles-Propreté said. "We propose removing food waste from the white bag, putting it in the orange bag, and putting the orange bag in an orange container. This container has a lid, so there is no chance of it being attacked by animals."
