This summer, the municipality of Anderlecht launched a major awareness campaign against street dumping. Around 1,000 signs warn about heavy fines. Yet in some neighbourhoods, the signs appear to have been misunderstood: rubbish bags and waste have accumulated around them. The authorities acknowledge that the problem persists, while residents are calling for more surveillance cameras and inspections.

(Staff: Belgium / Society & Environment)

The Brussels municipality of Anderlecht has been struggling for years with an image problem caused by illegal dumping. To tackle it, the local authorities launched an unprecedented awareness campaign this summer: around 1,000 signs were installed throughout the municipality, warning residents about hefty fines.

The messages are clear. One sign says: “Dumping construction waste will cost you dearly, a minimum of 2,500 euros, daily inspections.” Another warns that leaving a rubbish bag in the wrong place can result in a fine of at least 500 euros. The colourful pictograms and short texts were designed to be easy to understand, including in neighbourhoods where many residents do not speak Dutch or French well or cannot read.

The unintended effect: the signs appear to attract waste

However, the campaign has not produced the desired result everywhere. One Anderlecht resident noticed that some people appear to have understood the message in exactly the opposite way: “Some seem to have understood that rubbish bags should be left right there. Or at least that is what it looks like, because there is a lot of waste around the signs.”

The situation is particularly visible around Aumale metro station and Verzetsplein, in the heart of the municipality. The resident says things have not improved since the campaign began.

Authorities admit: “It works in some neighbourhoods, but not in others”

Anderlecht councillor for Public Cleanliness, Achille Junior Vandyck (MR), acknowledges that the campaign’s effectiveness varies. “In some neighbourhoods it is a success, in others it is not,” he said, pointing in particular to Kuregem, known for recurring problems. “Some residents have absolutely no respect for their neighbourhood. They do not care.”

Vandyck argues that more than signs are needed. He is calling for stronger inspections against the exploitation and illegal subdivision of homes. “In buildings intended for 2 or 3 homes, sometimes 20 families live there. That produces more waste.” He acknowledges, however, that there is no consensus on this issue within the Anderlecht coalition, although he raised it before the summer.

Surveillance cameras and higher fines

Another proposal from the councillor is to place the authorities’ surveillance and traffic cameras under centralised management and also use them against illegal dumpers. The local resident supports the measure: “There are already mobile cameras. When they are installed, you notice that people are less inclined to dump all sorts of things on the street. But the cameras are moved frequently, and when they disappear, the place becomes a rubbish dump again very quickly.”

Vandyck also says the warning signs are accompanied by actual inspections and fines. In August alone, the municipality issued fines totalling 80,000 euros for illegal dumping. At the end of August, he had already announced that the value of cleanliness-related fines had tripled in three years. Nevertheless, cleanliness problems remain persistent.

Conclusion

The Anderlecht campaign illustrates a painful reality: the fight against litter cannot be won with signs and pictograms alone, however well-intentioned they may be. Where civic education is lacking and social and housing problems run deep, messages can have the opposite effect. The authorities promise more inspections, cameras and fines, but residents are waiting for solutions that change not only the appearance of the streets, but also the causes that turn them into rubbish dumps.