Obligation to use the green biodegradable bags

As of Monday 8 June 2020, only the offical bags will be collected.

Bruxelles-Propreté has noted a significant increase in the non-official green bags put out for garden waste collections. These bags are for most of them the old regional model. These plastic bags are no longer valid since 1 January 2018. To get rid of them, Brussels residents who still have them in stock are invited to throw them, empty, in the white bag. They will not be exchanged or refunded.

Plastic bags cannot be composted by Bruxelles-Compost, the regional composting centre.

As of Monday 8 June 2020, the Brussels-Propreté teams will only collect the legal biodegradable green bags.

How to recognise the non-official bags?

• Either they are not identified by the logo of the Brussels-Capital Region and that of Bruxelles-Propreté ;
• or they are made of plastic and are therefore not biodegradable;
• or their volume is higher than 60 l.

These criteria are sometimes combined.

Official biodegradable bags (60 l) are available per roll of ten bags in supermarkets, DIY stores, garden centres and a few retail stores.

Bruxelles-Propreté draws the attention of Brussels residents to the fact that old non-regulatory bags would still be sold on certain markets. These bags are no longer collected, so there is no point in buying them.

Precautions for use :

The biodegradable nature of the official green bags requires simple rules to be followed when using them. These rules guarantee that biodegradation does not occur before the bag is presented for collection.

What are these rules?

1. Keep the bag in a dry cool place. Concretely, it should not be left in full sun to avoid the fermentation of the grass and thus the acceleration of the degradation of the bag.
2. Allow air to circulate around the bag. Avoid placing your bag on damp ground while waiting for our collection trucks to pass.
3. Limit the filling time to a maximum of two weeks.
4. Do not exceed 15 kilos, as for blue, yellow, orange and white bags.

Bruxelles-Propreté reminds you that branches can be presented for collection in bundles.

History

The Regional Government has decided to no longer allow green plastic bags from 1 January 2018. This decision has been recorded in the environmental permit of Brussels-Compost, the regional centre for the treatment of garden waste.

Today, the large quantity of non-biodegradable green bags presented for collection threatens the maintenance of the environmental permit and thus the recycling of garden waste of the Brussels residents.

Strong attendance at the Recypark Woluwe-Saint-Pierre

The Recypark Woluwe-Saint-Pierre has a very high attendance.

We remind you that the Federal Government has limited travel to what is strictly necessary. These restrictions also apply to the Recypark Woluwe-Saint-Pierre: emergency situations or urgent necessity (e.g. death or moving house).

If a visit is indeed necessary, we suggest you arrive during the following (less frequented) time slots:

• Wednesdays from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.
• Tuesday and Wednesday from 4:00 pm to 6:45 pm.
• Thursday from 9.00 to 11.00 am

We do not recommend visits on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9am to 4pm. These are very busy times.

Residents of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert can also go to the Recypark Sud, Nord and Humanité (for vehicles with trailers and vehicles with a height of more than 1.85 metres ). 

Covid-19 : services are back to normal

All of Bruxelles-Propreté’s services have been restored

As previously communicated, the Covid-19 crisis has led to disruptions in the missions of Bruxelles-Propreté, particularly in the collections of blue and yellow bags.

Bruxelles-Propreté is now in a position to restore all of its collection services to the usual schedules.

Separate collections of all blue and yellow bags

As of Monday 11 May, all blue and yellow bags will be collected again separately in all Brussels municipalities.  These bags will be sent to the sorting centre (Recyclis) for recycling.

In order to ensure these collections, to guarantee the sorting of the collected waste and to make sure that social distancing measures are respected as much as possible, Bruxelles-Propreté has rearranged the working hours of the collection teams.  This measure will be applied from 11 May until further notice.

Specifically, blue bags (PMC packaging) and yellow bags (paper and cardboard) will be collected in the morning. However, approximately 15% of the white bag collections will be carried out in the afternoon instead of the morning. This change in the working hours of the collection teams does not, however, imply any change in the citizens' collection schedules.

All bags (white, blue, yellow, orange and green) must therefore be put out at the usual days and times

The inhabitants are however asked to leave their white bags along their house facade, if they have not been collected in the morning.

To make the work of the collection teams easier and to maintain the streets clean, it is paramount to respect the usual rules:

Bags

• Put out the bags on the right day.
• Seal the bags tightly.
• Put the bags along the facade.
• Do not exceed 15 kg per bag.

Cartons

• Carton boxes must be folded, stacked and tied so that our teams can get rid of them easily and safely..

Good citizenship habits to live by

Bruxelles-Propreté requires all citizens to respect the public space.

• Gloves and masks must be thrown into the white bag.
• Do not throw your cigarette butts, handkerchiefs and masks, cans, packaging and other waste in the street. There is a good chance that a public trash bin is nearby. If not, please keep your waste with you until you reach home where you can get rid of it.
• Pick up your dog's droppings.  Remember to bring a bag to pick it up.
• Some waste is particularly harmful to the environment, such as small household chemical waste.  Take it to the Recypark.  Or better yet, drop it off at a PROXY CHIMIK collection point.

Bruxelles-Propreté reminds the population that fines do happen when breaking the rules on public cleanliness.

In these particular times, the Management thanks more than ever its teams and the inhabitants for their flexibility, understanding and collaboration.

Recypark's open in the afternoon, from May 4th