New campaign against litter in Brussels parks

After two years of improvement, the amount of litter in the parks of the Brussels region is once again on the rise.

In an effort to combat this reversal of the positive trend, a new campaign called "WeArePark" aims to encourage visitors and local residents to make the parks "clean and welcoming" places.

Activities will be organised in 19 Brussels parks until mid-September, ranging from collective clean-up operations and sorting competitions, to sporting challenges such as archery, and games around choosing the right bins for the right waste.

The aim is to raise awareness of various issues such as waste management, sorting and recycling, the time it takes for waste to decompose in nature and the protection of biodiversity.

Litter is not the only focus when it comes to making parks more enjoyable places. Visitors will also be reminded to cycle or scooter at an appropriate speed, admire the flowers and plants without picking them, and observe the animals without feeding them.

“Every gesture counts,” said Brussels Environment. “A piece of packaging on the ground, food scraps lying around or a scooter travelling at full speed can hinder or endanger other park visitors and animals and cause damage to nature.”

The increase in litter in parks is partly due to the sharp rise in the number of park visitors and the increasing use of excessive packaging for products, according to Brussels Environment.

However, more bags of household waste are also being dumped in parks.

In 2024, 440 tonnes of waste were collected in regional parks and sent to the incinerator and 500m³ of PMD plastic waste was recycled.

This represents a significant increase, as in 2023, 366 tonnes of waste were collected and sent to the incinerator, and 371m³ of PMD waste was collected.