Residents organise neighbourhood clean-up in Molenbeek

Three dozen residents spent their Sunday afternoon picking up litter in the area around the Brussels canal, a part of Molenbeek known as the Maritime quarter.

The event was organised by the Brussels citizen initiative “Les voisins maritimes” (The maritime neighbours). After Wake-up - Clean up, it’s the second initiative launched by residents aimed at tackling the accumulation of litter in the Brussels commune.

“It’s wonderful to see the enthusiasm in the neighbourhood. We will shortly have a meeting with Cleanliness alderwoman Khadija Zamouri to work out a structural solution for this problem,” co-organiser and Molenbeek resident Arne Nouwen told Bruzz.

Nouwen launched the initiative a couple of months ago after becoming increasingly upset at the amount of trash littering the neighbourhood. When he posted a call to the social networking site Hoplr asking if anyone would be interested in participating in a clean-up, he received many positive responses.

Yesterday was the group’s first clean-up event and they hope to organise more events in the future. “We also want to draw a more diverse crowd of people and this way strengthen bonds between residents,” Nouwen said.

The next clean-up event will take place 9 November.

Written by Linda A. Thompson

Photo courtesy Facebook Les voisins maritimes