From 1 September, Brussels-Propreté (which manages waste collection and disposal) will increase its use of administrative fines for a range of infractions that extends beyond the current application for littering cigarette butts.
The public cleanliness service for the Brussels-Capital Region announced on Tuesday that it will also target violations related to waste sorting. Furthermore, discarding cans and other small refuse instead of putting it in a bin will also be punishable. The service is considering adding more infractions, such as dumping rubbish bags, wooden planks, or household products.
The fines range from €75 to €350. But penalties for leaving out bags that contain hazardous materials will continue to be processed via judicial procedures, though this takes longer.
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For a year, the agency has been able to issue administrative fines to anyone caught littering cigarette butts. This effectively grants around 20 agents the authority to issue fines to offending individuals – a much quicker means of penalising certain polluting acts.
Between 1 June and 31 December 2023, the Research and Fine unit of Brussels-Propreté issued 362 penalty proposals, worth a total of €27,745. Of this, about €20,000 was paid – a collection rate of over 70%.
Figures for infractions so far this year are promising: 247 settlement proposals have been issued, worth €17,775. €11,200 of this has been collected – a recovery rate of around 65%. But this is expected to increase because the payment deadline for some recent violations has not yet been reached.
