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Participation: encourage the participation and involvement of the public in order to improve urban cleanliness
Measures
41. Consulting citizens on urban cleanliness through surveys, forums and digital platforms and passing on their ideas and proposals to the actors in charge of cleanliness and to the Regional Council for Urban Cleanliness.
Developing citizen consultation through surveys, the organisation of forums and the use of digital platforms to improve understanding of the general public in Brussels and pass on citizens’ ideas about cleanliness to public bodies. Sharing the results of these consultations among the actors of the Regional Council for Urban Cleanliness.
The clean.brussels strategy has benefited from the contributions and views of the population of Brussels, through two participation mechanisms in the spring of 2022:
- Initially, a survey was widely disseminated through social media in order to measure the sensitivity of residents and users to public cleanliness. The online survey had 3,658 respondents.
- After the survey, those who took part had the opportunity to register for a discussion forum to discuss the issues in greater depth.
The consultation improved the quality of the strategy’s contents thanks to the collective expertise of the citizens, and increased the social cohesion of the strategy.
An initiative of Bruxelles-Propreté
42. Cleanliness ambassadors are appointed in collaboration with the municipalities to raise awareness among Brussels citizens and mobilise them for voluntary cleaning actions.
Creating a network of cleanliness ambassadors in the Brussels-Capital Region, in collaboration with the Brussels municipalities, in order to support volunteer waste collection actions, mainly for the purpose of raising awareness among fellow-citizens.
43. At the instigation of Bruxelles-Propreté, a specific urban cleanliness time is organised in the Brussels region every year, bringing together citizens, civil society organisations, companies and public bodies, along the lines of the Spring Cleaning in Wallonia.
Organising a specific urban cleanliness time in the Brussels-Capital Region, along the lines of the Spring Cleaning in Wallonia, at the instigation of Brussels-Propreté as a unifying actor, in collaboration with public and private bodies and civil society organisations in order to mobilise the population of Brussels.
44. Making it easy to report cleanliness-related incidents in public spaces using digital tools such as the FixMyStreet application or a free telephone number of the 0800 type.
Promoting the use by the population of communication channels for reporting cleanliness-related incidents in public spaces, for example via the FixMyStreet mobile app or the free 0800 number for the Brussels-Capital Region cleanliness services.
In an era of digitalisation and the desire for a more harmonious living environment, civic engagement must be encouraged through digital applications which are accessible on smartphones. When it comes to public cleanliness, FixMyStreet is the best known application. This mobile application meets several objectives, namely to mobilise citizens and respond more quickly to incidents in public spaces, particularly when it comes to cleanliness. In 2021, of the 75,784 incidents reported on the application, 83.94% were resolved within the year.
Other communication channels exist, including the 0800 number of Bruxelles-Propreté and the municipal services. The promotion of these tools to the population of Brussels is essential as increasing their use will improve the cleanliness of the streets.
45. Within the framework of local civic life, the theme of urban cleanliness is discussed and the ‘Inspirons le Quartier’ call for projects of Brussels Environment retains a cleanliness focus.
Facilitating the integration of urban cleanliness issues into local civic action by, for example, sharing good practices, and maintaining the theme of ‘urban cleanliness’ in the ‘Inspirons le Quartier’ call for projects by Brussels Environment.
With Brussels Environment’s ‘Inspirons le Quartier’ (‘Inspire the neighbourhood’) call for projects, the Brussels Region wanted to focus on the link between the environment and urban cleanliness. The urban cleanliness theme was therefore added to this call for projects in 2021.
In that year, support was given in particular to a project by the collective Les Compagnons du Logis Floréal. Since then, at ‘Floréal garden city’, the collective’s objective has been to make the neighbourhood cleaner by making five new mobile waste bins. Clean-up operations with local residents are also organised from time to time. The bins were decorated in the shape of houses in reference to the striking architecture of the garden cities – a playful and creative touch that placing children at the centre of the project.
In 2021, a total of more than 80 projects were supported by ‘Inspire the Neighbourhood’. Five of these directly related to urban cleanliness:
- Cureghem Propre: Creating a mascot, raising awareness in the neighbourhood, plogging sessions, clean-up operations, Ballot Bins
- Les Bal’Evere: Local residents meetings, clean-up operations
- Le Logis Floréal: Installing mobile waste bins decorated by children
- Collecteur collectif: Focus on cigarette butts, organising events, clean-up operations, raising awareness
- La Belle Chaussée: Creating flower frescoes on shop fronts to prevent graffiti, clean-up operations, mobile educational workshop
An initiative of Brussels Environment