Anderlecht neighbourhood flooded by waste 24 hours after clean-up

The Anderlecht neighbourhood of Cureghem has once again been flooded with rubbish, just days after a major clean-up operation.

Between 30 March and 2 April, the municipality of Anderlecht organised a large-scale clean-up campaign in the neighbourhood, Bruzz reports, with help from citizens’ initiative Brussels (Pou)Belle.

“In less than 24 hours, the neighbourhood was once again inundated with rubbish, torn-open bin bags and bulky waste,” said Jens Popelier of the Respect Cureghem neighbourhood committee.

“Cleaning up Cureghem without tackling the root causes means condemning the neighbourhood to an endless cycle of chaos.”

Cureghem has long been plagued by a rubbish problem, which for Respect Cureghem and other citizens’ initiatives is starting to feel insurmountable.

“This campaign demonstrated that with the right resources, political will and collective mobilisation, a different reality is possible, but the almost immediate return of chaos exposes a much deeper structural problem,” Popelier said.

“Rules on waste management or housing standards are not followed or enforced by the many slum landlords or properties that are rented out as tourist accommodation via platforms such as Airbnb.”

Local resident Lize Spit echoed these concerns and others in a post on social media.

“Our neighbourhood is home to a large number of temporary migrant workers who work on construction sites around the city and rent (often unauthorised) rooms (often from slum landlords).

"They do not buy bin bags but deposit their rubbish in tied-up bags in public bins, and those few bins cannot cope with the large volume," Spit wrote.

The issue of slum landlords is not new. Following a municipal inspection campaign in 2022 to combat slum landlords, three out of four short-term rental properties in Anderlecht were found to be non-compliant.

According to Achille Junior Vandyck, alderman for cleanliness (MR), about 80% of property owners in Anderlecht do not live in the properties that belong to them.

“We’re going to carry out more checks on who registers with the municipality and scrutinise their utility contracts more closely so that residents of Anderlecht are genuinely involved in the municipality,” Vandyck said.

Popelier points to social vulnerability as the greatest factor contributing to the state of the neighbourhood.

“Homeless people with addiction problems tear open rubbish bags in search of food,” Popelier said.

“This behaviour is a direct consequence of a dire shortage of shelter and support services for these extremely vulnerable groups.”

Respect Cureghem said it was working to build a strong neighbourhood identity and believes that it is possible to improve the situation in a sustainable way, “provided these efforts are framed and supported by a coherent government policy”.

Vandyck referred to proactive measures being taken by the municipality. For instance, in 2025, Anderlecht issued €500,000 in fines for littering.

By the end of this March, the total for 2026 had already reached €100,000. By the end of this year, cameras will also be deployed to tackle the issue.

“These measures will yield clear results within one to two years, although I also expect a clear preventive policing strategy to be developed, and for that I am looking to our mayor,” Vandyck said.