New calendar for taking out waste bags

So the switch date is Monday 15 May 2023.

But beware, for some, the change of this habit already applies from Sunday evening 14 May. Because the new calendar no longer lists, as before, the days and hours when the trucks of Bruxelles-Propreté pass by, but rather the days and hours when residents should put out their rubbish bags.

Therefore, if for you the collection happens on Sunday evening or Monday morning, please learn the new habit of putting out your rubbish bags from Sunday evening 14 May. This will be clearly stated on your new calendar.

First of all, all inhabitants of the Brussels Region will receive an envelope in their letterbox containing the new calendar for their commune or neighbourhood. This new calendar lists their streets and can easily be cut out to hang on the fridge door instead of the old calendar (which is valid until Saturday 13 May 2023).

From the beginning of May, you can also find the new calendar online on the website of External site Bruxelles-Propreté. By entering your address, you will immediately see the new calendar for putting out your bags.

The new calendar for putting out rubbish bags applies to all inhabitants of the Brussels Region who normally put their rubbish bags out on the doorstep for door-to-door collection.

Only those living in an apartment building equipped with a communal waste room and large containers on wheels do not have to change their habits. They can continue to sort their waste in the large containers available in their building.

First of all, the new calendar no longer indicates the day and hour of collections, but the day and hour when residents should put out their rubbish bags of a certain colour. This is much easier for everyone: you only have to take into account the hour when you have to put out the rubbish bags and no longer the time when the rubbish truck comes by.

Furthermore, from 15 May 2023, the obligation to sort food waste via compost or via the orange bag will ensure that all households in Brussels, unless they use a compost, will from now on also put their orange bag on the pavement once a week. More info:

Orange waste bag mandatory from May 2023

By the way, thanks to the sorting of food waste and the expansion of permitted packaging in the blue bag, the white bag will contain about 40% less weight and volume.

As a result, the frequency of white bag collection will also change from 15 May 2023. Indeed, in 10 municipalities, the white bag will only be collected once a week instead of twice a week. These municipalities are: Auderghem, Berchem, City of Brussels (only on the territory of Haren and Neder-Over-Heembeek), Evere, Ganshoren, Jette, Uccle, Watermael-Boitsfort, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre.

In all other municipalities, white bags will still be collected twice a week.

Yes, the new calendar indicates the hours when you should put the bags on the pavement. In certain zones, this is in the evening, from 8 pm onwards. These evening collections have a significant positive impact for residentsin Brussels:

• The waste bags spend less time on the pavement, which is a significant added value for the cleanliness and appearance of the streets.
• Mobility and traffic fluidity improve during peak hours. Because it is mainly the busiest streets that are selected for evening collections.
• The Bruxelles-Propreté work is more efficient due to better coordination of collection and cleaning, as cleaning will take place after the evening collection. So the streets will be clean the next morning.

For the residents concerned, this is actually a new habit: put your waste bags outside between 6 pm and 8 pm for the evening collections. These collections are clearly marked with a moon on the calendar.

First of all, the yellow, blue, green, orange and white bags get at least one collection per week, 52 weeks a year.

Moreover, the colours of the bags are used to indicate the days and hours of the weekly schedule when each bag must be taken out. The layout of the new calendar is clear, which makes it very user-friendly. A sorting guide is included to help you sort properly and never make a mistake.

The benefits of this new calendar for all of us are of course related to the environment and public cleaning.

Together with the obligation to sort food waste, this new calendar will significantly reduce CO2 emissions throughout the Brussels Region, helping to meet the objectives of the Air-Climate-Energy Plan of the Brussels Capital Region.

And fewer trucks on our roads will also lead to less traffic congestion and fewer greenhouse gases.