Member(s) of Government responsible for this response
Alain Maron
Minister of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, responsible for Climate change, Environment, Energy and Participatory democracy
Barbara Trachte
Secretary of State of the Brussels-Capital Region, responsible for Economic transition and Scientific research
Response
This proposal is in line with existing
measures or upcoming legislation.
Explanation
The reform of the household waste collection system which started on 15 May 2023 in the Brussels-Capital Region has given rise to an extensive information campaign on waste sorting and recycling, including door-to-door leaflets and multilingual information on the website of the Brussels agency Bruxelles Proprété (https://www.arp-gan.be).
The Bruxelles Environnement website offers a wide range of information on waste reduction and processing options, as well as local initiatives on zero-waste and the circular economy, via the “Making environmentally conscious choices” tab (https://environnement.brussels/citoyen/lenvironnement-bruxelles/agir-eco-responsable).
The new regional strategy for urban cleanliness, (http://www.clean.brussels), which aims to reduce the presence of illegal dumping sites, will also reinforce the promotion of solutions for disposing of bulky and other special waste (extension of the Recyparks network, expansion of mobile Recyparks, creation of donation zones linked to Recyparks, increased support for repair cafes, etc.).
Through the Regional economic transition strategy Shifting Economy (https://shiftingeconomy.brussels), which aims to transform the Brussels economy into a low-carbon, regenerative, circular, social, democratic and digital economy by 2050, special attention is paid to the circular economy, by stimulating economic activities that enable recycling or reuse, in particular through the circular economy innovation pathway. This provides guidance and support for projects in this area, regardless of their stage of development (near or far from commercialisation). One example is Circular Innovation (https://innoviris.brussels/program/circular-innovation), an Innoviris call for projects that allows innovators to obtain funding to test the feasibility and viability of an innovative recycling or reuse activity based on an “urban waste”/waste.