Only well after elections will Tervurenaars know how much our new trash collection system will cost from 2025. The shift to techie bins, with smart chips that weigh household residual waste, means less incineration. Lack of information may see residents balking at high bills and not counting the environmental benefits.
Weighing residual household waste will be twice as slow and twice as expensive, Tervuren’s mayor Marc Charlier says. The Flemish nationalist (N-VA) mayor also points out that residual waste collection under the new system will be every other week.
The mayor’s objections did not change the wheels of decision. Thanks to Flemish nationalist N-VA support in neighboring towns Overijse and Hoeilaart, the joint municipal waste collector Interrand is still going ahead, beginning in 2025, with charging for residual waste based on weight. No longer will we pay for each brown plastic bag bought.
Regardless of objections, the environmental benefits of the new system have garnered support. And they were even pushed through the Flemish government by an N-VA environment minister. To avoid future penalties, Tervuren will have to reduce its annual per capita residual waste from around 126 kg to 83 kg by 2030. Thanks to the new bins that weigh residual waste, neighboring towns Huldenberg (79 kg) and Bertem (91 kg) have already gone to the next level.
Tervuren will have to reduce its annual per capita residual waste from around 126 kg to 83 kg by 2030.
The current system of selling brown bags for residual waste bags covers less than 60% of municipal waste collector Interrand’s total expenses. In theory, the new system would shift reasonable costs to those who pollute more. And Flanders appears to set reasonable prices, between €0.11 and €0.33 per kilo, for residual waste. There’s also an annual fixed price for garbage collection that local politicians have yet to disclose. Another cloud looming is Belgium finally charging, from 2028, for CO2 emissions from burning residual waste.
Burning less and reusing is not only environmentally friendly but also cost-effective. Composting, too, could significantly reduce the 20% of food waste in brown bags. And for eco-enthusiasts, there’s even the option of trying Bokashi, fermenting cooked food and meat waste before returning it to Mother Earth.
“The primary motivation for change is, of course, environmental impact. We’ll burn less and reuse more,” says Flemish Green councillor Elmo Peeters, appointed as vice-chairman of municipal waste firm Interrand. “Charging for waste based on weight works. You see that where towns are already working with the system,” Elmo tells Tervuren+. “Correctly separating waste is going to be rewarded. And those who pollute more, pay more,” he said.
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