Information and sensitisation - cleaning

Several services work on public cleaning on the territory of the City of Brussels. Throughout the year, the Cleaning Service of the City of Brussels works on informing and raising awareness about a clean city. Would you like flyers, pocket ashtrays or would you like to propose a project? Please contact the service via 0800 901 07 or by e-mail at proprete@brucity.be.

Several services work on public cleaning on the territory of the City of Brussels.

Public Cleaning Service of the City of Brussels

The Public Cleaning Service has several tasks:

  • daily: cleaning streets and sidewalks, emptying of public bins, removal of illegal dumping, sewer cleaning, removal of tags and graffiti, maintenance of public bins, urinals and toilets, dog toilets,...
  • periodically: clean the public space during markets, during or after public events and providing bins and containers for public events
  • seasonal: collecting leaves, selective weeding, scattering of salt in winter

There is also a team of mediators to serve the residents: they are responsible for the applications that arrive by email or phone, and they are present in the field for raising awareness, but also during specific actions or events.

Fifty sworn officers can also give penalties for violations related to cleaning (illegal dumping, putting garbage bags on the streets outside the allowed hours or days, disposal of small waste, dog dirt,...).

Regional Cleaning Agency Bruxelles-Propreté

The External site Regional Cleaning Agency Bruxelles-Propreté is responsible for:

  • the collection of household waste on the territory of the City (just like the other municipalities of Brussels)
  • the installation and emptying of the glass containers
  • the cleaning of regional roads
  • the cleaning of some neighborhoods (Chaussée d'Anvers, Pentagon, southern part of the Northeast quarter, Louise and Roosevelt)

Green Spaces Unit of the City of Brussels

The Green Spaces Unit is responsible for the maintenance and cleaning of the municipal parks.

Bruxelles Environnement

The External site Bruxelles Environnement regional service is responsible for the maintenance and cleaning of the regional parks.

STIB and SNCB

These public transport companies assure the cleaning of their infrastructures.

The Cleaning Mediators are in daily contact with residents: in addition to managing complaints received by e-mail or telephone, they are present in the field and raise awareness during specific actions or public events (neighborhood parties, Cleaning Day, reminders of the rules for putting out garbage bags, collecting bulky waste,...).

When a complaint is received, the mediator opens a file based on the evidence, draws up a report and seeks a solution to prevent the problem from recurring.

Do you want to call in the mediators? You can do so via:

The Respect Team is an action in which the mediator, the street sweepers and the department manager go door-to-door to get to know the residents and merchants of the neighborhood and to make the service known to the general public.

Mediators of the Respect Team

Communication campaign - 'The Heroes of Every Day'

In May 2017, the 'Heroes of Every Day' campaign started. The purpose of this campaign is to increase appreciation for the workers of the Cleaning Service, who are usually invisible to most people but perform an indispensable task. They are on site for 365 days a year and work continuously to make the City of Brussels comfortable for residents and visitors (commuters, tourists,...).

Next videos show the street sweepers of the City of Brussels at work, under the following slogan (in French): the Cleaning Service of the City, that is more than 300 people on the site, 365 days a year. Thank you for showing respect for their work.

Each year the Cleaning Service works with a non-profit organization, on a voluntary basis, to organize activities in primary and secondary schools on the territory of the City of Brussels. These fun and free activities are meant to inform children and young people about cleaning and respect for public space:

Plastic waste videos

The students of the European School Brussels IV-Laeken have made several videos about plastic waste.

The video "The 7th continent" contains text in French and Dutch (PDF, 44.49 KB).

The video 8 million tons of waste contains text in Dutch and French: More than 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year. Garbage harms our environment. Don't throw it away. Let's reduce it.

The video Planet Earth in 2100 (in French) contains text in French and Dutch (PDF, 40.02 KB) and subtitles in French.

Video 'Do not feed the waste monster!'

At the end of 2018, students from the Institut De Mot-Couvreur thus realized the video Do not feed the waste monster!. The video has to make people aware of the amount of waste thrown on the ground.

(Accessibility of the contents of the video: the video contains no dialogue, only background music and following texts, in French and Dutch: Do not feed the waste monster! / Public cleaning, everyone's business / Carried out by the students of the 5th SSE of the De Mot-Couvreur Institute in Brussels with the help of GoodPlanet Belgium and the Cleaning Service of the City of Brussels).

Marolles district contract

The aim of the Cleaning section in the Marolles sustainable district contract is to improve waste management by offering structural solutions that correspond to the reality of the site. Several projects are being carried out with the different actors of the neighborhood (residents, associations, traders, public services,…).

Awareness activities take place all year round with young and less young people to think and work around cleaning.

The first example is the Bulky waste campaign that is organized a few times a year (in March and October when bulky waste is collected by the City of Brussels). The aim is to help residents get rid of their bulky waste. They can count on the youth of the neighbourhood.

Bulky waste campaign at the Marolles

The improvement of public space is also on the agenda to combat the problems of pollution. An action was carried out by young people from the FJM (Foyer des Jeunes des Marolles) to regreen three tree feet with plants at the Place Brueghel.

Action by FJM (Foyer des Jeunes des Marolles) to regreen three tree feet with plants on the Breugelplein

Bockstael district contract

In areas with a district contract, such as the Bockstael district (2014-2017), the City takes additional street sweepers, but also Cleaning Coordinators who develop local initiatives around cleaning. At district level, they play the role mediators play on the whole territory of the City.

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