The Municipality of Anderlecht provides its population with mobile mini-container parks to dispose of their bulky items

As part of its Strategic Cleanliness Plan 2021-2024, the Municipality of Anderlecht is committed to limit the illegal dumping of bulky waste. Therefore, the local authority created a mobile container park in May 2021, covering 16 locations in Anderlecht at regular intervals. To mark the second anniversary of this experiment on the Anderlecht territory, Allan Neuzy, council member for ecological transition and the maintenance of public spaces in Anderlecht, explains how to make cleanliness "everyone's business".

What made you decide to launch the mini-recyparks in Anderlecht?

One in two households does not have a car. This means that every other household has difficulties in disposing of its bulky waste, since the nearest container park is located in the municipality of Forest. Our assessment of the situation was simple. The inhabitants of Anderlecht had a demand that was only partly met by the municipality and the Brussels-Capital Region.

Theoretically, the management of household bulky waste falls under the responsibility of the Brussels-Capital Region, but it is the municipality that bears the costs of illegal dumping. That is the context that led to this initiative by the Municipality of Anderlecht.

Does this local initiative constitute a complement to the existing regional recyparks?

Local measures provide for an approach close to the inhabitants of Anderlecht. The underlying philosophy is to respond rapidly to local needs to avoid clandestine dumping. The core principle of the mini-recyparks is their mobility (trailer) and their (eye-catching) visual appeal. Most of the mini-recyparks also feature a RecyMobil-trailer to maximise the potential of collected and sorted items.

How did you inform the inhabitants?

From the start of the mini-recyparks the idea was to include these mobile container parks in the everyday life of the inhabitants of Anderlecht. To achieve this, two approaches were used:

• Communication and introduction of a monthly presence via traditional media (social networks and newspapers)
• Direct appeal to the inhabitants of Anderlecht in high-frequency public spaces (signposting and street promotion by artists)

How do you rate the results of two years of action in terms of public cleanliness?

It is difficult to quantify the real effects on the public domain. In fact, though the amount of waste collected via the mini-recyparks is significant, we do not observe a general decrease in illegal dumping. This tends to increase due to consumption patterns and several sociological factors, but we can highlight the positive feedback from inhabitants and their support for more public services being made available on a more local scale.

Practical information

• Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 12:30 to 19:30, Saturday from 11:00 to 16:30
• Calendar & conditions can be found on the website https://www.anderlecht.be/fr/mini-recyparks
• This service is exclusively for the inhabitants of Anderlecht