Brussels residents will have to wait several more days before all uncollected rubbish is cleared from the streets after this week's strike at Bruxelles-Propreté, with the agency warning that the ongoing heatwave is further slowing recovery efforts.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Bruxelles-Propreté said catch-up operations are continuing following the strike on Tuesday 23 June, which disrupted waste collections across the capital. However, exceptionally high temperatures have reduced the agency's operational capacity, delaying the return to normal service.
An unpleasant situation
The situation is particularly problematic as the city experiences soaring temperatures, with food waste left outside for several days raising concerns over unpleasant odours and hygiene.
"We completely understand that this is particularly unpleasant for residents," Bruxelles-Propreté spokesperson Adel Lassouli told The Brussels Times. "We are doing everything we can to catch up, but unlike other public services, waste collections don't simply resume where they left off. Every day that passes, new bags are put out, adding to those that were not collected during the strike."
Residual and food waste prioritised
The agency said it is prioritising the collection of white residual waste bags and orange food waste bags, which pose the greatest public health concerns during the heatwave. All orange bags that were missed during Tuesday's strike are expected to be collected by the end of Thursday, while additional collection trucks have been deployed to deal with the backlog of white bags.
"We had to make choices," Lassouli said. "From a sanitary perspective, food waste and residual waste had to come first. There are still a few food waste collection rounds to complete this afternoon, and we're in the process of clearing those."
Nevertheless, the clean-up is expected to continue until at least Friday evening in several municipalities, including Uccle, Ganshoren, Berchem-Sainte-Agathe and Schaerbeek, where large quantities of waste remain on pavements.
Residents in Etterbeek, Jette, Molenbeek, Uccle and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert face even longer delays for recycling collections. Bruxelles-Propreté said uncollected yellow paper-and-cardboard bags and blue PMD recycling bags will not be picked up before the beginning of next week due to limited resources.
Heat reduces operational capacity
Lassouli said the heatwave has also affected staffing levels despite measures introduced to protect workers. "We have adapted working hours so crews can start at 05:00 and finish earlier, allowing them to work during the coolest part of the day," he said. "But we are still seeing absences that are likely linked to the heat, in addition to those resulting from the strike."
Bruxelles-Propreté apologised for the inconvenience and said it would continue providing real-time updates through its website and social media channels as crews work to restore normal collection schedules.
