" The canal, I love it clean"

The Port of Brussels is launching a new campaign to raise awareness of the cleanliness of the canal on the occasion of the Brussels Water Days. The slogan of this campaign, " The canal, I love it clean", places people at the heart of public cleanliness issues. In 2022, the Port collected 160 m3 of waste on the canal thanks to its three cleaning boats, thus underlining its daily commitment to the cleanliness of the 14 km of canal that it manages.

With this renewed campaign, the Port wants to make the residents and the population aware of the importance of keeping the canal clean. The Port of Brussels is planning new installations of signs along the canal as well as a digital campaign on social networks and a poster campaign targeted in the districts along the canal. The cleaning boats will also be dressed in the Port's colours to make them more recognizable.

The Damona, the latest cleaning boat in the fleet and the first 100% electric boat purchased by the Port, was presented to the public during the Brussels Water Days last March. It has since been put into service to reinforce the canal cleaning fleet.

The Brussels Minister for the Environment, Alain MARON, welcomed the contribution of the Port of Brussels to the implementation of the regional strategy for urban cleanliness launched last year to make Brussels cleaner and more pleasant to live in. He underlined the importance of the Port's work in preventing pollution of the canal, managing the waste of the boatmen and cleaning the canal.

This campaign is part of measure 16 of the urban cleanliness strategy clean.brussels. Supported by the Port of Brussels, Vivaqua and Brussels Environment, this measure aims to remedy the presence of litter - i.e. food and consumer packaging, cigarette butts and bulky items - in the aquatic environment (ponds, waterways, the Brussels canal, etc.), in the sewage system and in the waterways. ), in the sewage system or in wastewater treatment plants, through the implementation and improvement of specific infrastructures, studies aimed at limiting floating waste, vegetation of aquatic environments thanks in particular to floating islands, clean-up actions using cleaning boats, and awareness-raising actions for the target public on the importance of protecting water, in particular in urban areas, due to its role in the preservation of the environment.