Why doesn't Bruxelles-Propreté use containers instead of bags?

We collect waste using three main methods: bags, mechanized containers, and sorting areas (underground containers).
Bags are primarily intended for houses and small apartment buildings. Mechanized containers are mainly used by large businesses with sufficient storage space and by large apartment buildings. Finally, sorting areas or underground containers are dedicated to new or very recent collective housing buildings with more than 150 housing units.

Generalizing container-based collection to all Brussels households is not feasible for several reasons:

• Many households live in apartments and do not have enough space or a dedicated room to store multiple containers for each waste fraction.
• The installation of wheeled containers on public roads has already been tested and evaluated. Unfortunately, the results were not conclusive. We observed numerous inconveniences (encouragement of illegal dumping, non-compliance with sorting rules, obstacles or dangers for traffic and pedestrians, etc.).

Lastly, underground containers are a solution adopted in the Brussels Region for new neighborhoods. Several projects have already implemented them. However, generalizing this collection method is not currently planned for various reasons:

• Sorting quality from underground containers still needs improvement (previous studies by Fost on underground systems used by various intermunicipal authorities show lower sorting quality compared to door-to-door collection).
• Public cleanliness issues remain unresolved (illegal dumping is frequently observed around underground containers).
• It is not always possible or desirable to install underground containers due to space constraints or the need to preserve Brussels’ underground infrastructure and public space.