Tired of living in a dirty Brussels with litter lining the streets? This weekend, there will be a huge action and festival to raise awareness of public cleanliness and show appreciation for those who keep the city's streets clean.
Find out how you can get involved and clean up your neighbourhood here.
Public cleanliness is being put in the spotlight this weekend during Brussels Clean Festival, which forms part of the wider World Cleanup Day.
For five days, millions of people around the world will come together to make both urban and rural areas cleaner and pleasanter.
In Brussels, too, a clean-up event and other activities will take place on Saturday, bringing together citizens, associations, businesses and public organisations.
The programme includes free, fun and participatory activities and games for children and adults alike to raise awareness of public cleanliness and emphasise the importance of recycling and correctly sorting rubbish, and there will be a chance to discover the refuse collection lorries and sweepers used by regional agency Brussels Cleanliness. Activities will be centred around Place De Brouckère.
Credit: Brussels Cleanliness
There will also be a concert by TrashBeatz at 13:40, in which the band will transform recycled materials into catchy rhythms, followed by Trashbattle, an interactive game combining blind tests, offbeat challenges and quizzes on waste, to test the audience's knowledge.
The lively Funky Bodding brass band will give a street performance, and Sam Bosman, the Belgian singer who rose to fame on 'The Voice' TV show, will close the day with an electric concert.
Credit: Brussels Cleanliness
An upcycling fashion show is also an exciting new feature of this year's festival, led by artist Juliet Bonhomme. The young Belgian designer has collected work clothes from Brussels Cleanliness staff, such as overalls and gloves, to give them a second life and transform them into entirely recycled fashion items.
Her unique collection will be unveiled during a colourful fashion show at 16:00, highlighting the essential role of workers and the challenges of textile recycling in the capital.
Credit: Maxime Vanormelingen
"Working with an institution like Brussels Cleanliness means a lot to me: it is an organisation that ensures the cleanliness of our city on a daily basis, doing noble, manual work," Bonhomme said.
Find more information on the festival here.
The solution to pollution
The festival coincides with World Cleanup Day, the largest global citizen action against litter and plastic pollution. It aims to put pressure on policy makers and producers and takes place on the third Saturday of September each year.
Non-profit River Cleanup Belgium is once again organising clean-up sessions in Ghent on Friday, Brussels, Antwerp, and Liège on Saturday and Namur and Temse on Sunday. In the Belgian capital, volunteers will set off from Quai des Péniches to collect waste while stand-up paddle boarding on the canal and walking through the surrounding streets.
Volunteers are also encouraged to take photos of the rubbish and upload them onto the River Cleanup website, so the organisation can map the problem and propose concrete measures.
Credit: River Cleanup Belgium
Volunteers should arrive at the canal by 10:15 on Saturday. There will then be a welcome speech and group photo before the cleaning begins. After two hours, the collected waste will be weighed and drinks will be provided.
"World Cleanup Day is not just about cleaning up litter, but about raising awareness, bringing about change and becoming part of the solution," noted Thomas de Groote, founder and CEO of River Cleanup.
"By working together to map and clean up litter, we are showing that this is a problem that affects us all and requires structural solutions. Everyone can participate, and every action counts."
Credit: River Cleanup Belgium
