Household waste

This page has been automatically translated from French into English by a translation software. Automatic translations are not as accurate as translations made by professional human translators. Nevertheless these pages can help you understand information published by the City of Brussels.

   

Days of the collection

The website of the Brussels-Cleanliness Agency supplies the information about the days of the collection in every street of white, yellow and blue bags. Inhabitants have to fill in their address to get to know the days of the collection of garbage in their street.

Obligations

Garbage cans must be outside and put against the facade:

• For the morning collection: that very day before the passage of the truck or the previous evening after 6 pm;
• For the evening collection: that very day at 6 pm.

Bags and sorting

It is asked to sort out the waste in 3 bags of various colors (white, blue, yellow) before their collection. The sorting is compulsory from 1 January 2010, as a respect for the environment.

• white bags are collected twice a week
• yellow and blue bags are collected together, once a week

The use of the official bags of the Region is compulsory since April, 2003. Grey or black bags are not statutory any more and are not recognized any more by the services of collection. Continuing to use the grey bag instead of the white bag is liable to a fine. These garbage bags are sold in all the hypermarkets and in the grocer's shops of the district.

• prices of the waste bags in Brussels 2010 (PDF, 1,96MB)

The bags contain following waste:

• Yellow bags: paper and cardboard
• Blue bags: empty recyclable packagings (bottles, plastic flasks, packagings tetrapack). Attention: glass cannot be introduced into the blue bags
• White bags: other household refuse (and incandescent light bulbs wrapped in paper and pyrex wrapped in paper and in small quantities, otherwise: container park). In the Brussels Region, from January 1st, 2009, the regional regulation of collection forbids to put glass in the white bags at the risk of an administrative fine of 62,50 euro. Glass must be deposited in glass containers.

Waste to be deposited

Certain garbage is not collected at home but must be deposited in:

• Glass containers: bottles, flasks, glass jars without cork nor lid. Are not allowed: flat glass, ceramic or china. For the peace of mind of the local residents, the deposits can only take place between 7 am and 10 pm
• Green corners: domestic chemical waste (cleaners, paint, piles)

To know the place of deposit that is closest to your place of residence, you can contact 0800 981 81.

Garden waste

The green bags are used for garden waste. The collection of the green bags is made at Neder-over-Hembeek. These green bags must be in front of the facade of the house before 2 pm on every Sunday.

The perimeter of collection of the green bags should widen in 2009. In the meantime, the Brussels citizens can use the white bags. They can also deposit their green waste, on Sunday between 2 pm and 5 pm, in a container placed in one of the regional waste reception centres:

• 1000 Brussels: Av. de la Renaissance (parking in front of the Ecole Royale Militaire) - open between 4 pm and 5 pm.
• 1020 Laeken: Place Saint-Lambert (corner Place Saint Lambert - av. du Centenaire) - open between 14.45 pm and 15.45 pm and Place E. Bockstael (parking in front of town hall) - open between 4pm and 5 pm.