Aalter (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Aalter, Belgium, struggles with illegal dumping, despite a free container park. Reports rose to 438 in 2024. Alderman De Smul suspects outsiders. The town fights back with fines, cameras, and the “Aalter Blinkt” cleanup event on March 23, 2025.
The town of Aalter in Belgium, province of East Flanders, has a problem with people dumping trash illegally. Some people think that Aalter’s location might be part of the reason why there’s so much illegal dumping. Aalter is near a lot of big roads, making it easy for people to drive by and throw out trash.
According to officials, people might just roll down their car window and throw something out without even stopping. It’s easy for people who are just passing through to dump their trash in Aalter because they don’t want to take the time to find a place to throw it out properly.
They mentioned that the town of Aalter is trying to keep the town clean, but they might need to do more. They could have more police watching for people dumping trash, put cameras up in places where people dump trash, or tell people about the problem. If they don’t do anything, the problem will probably get worse.
I am surprised because we have a free container park, so l don’t think most fly-tippers come from Aalter,
says Alderman De Smul.
Is Aalter’s illegal dumping problem worsening despite efforts?
According to the officials, the trash that people dump illegally in Aalter is mostly small stuff, like garbage from their homes. But sometimes, they dump bigger things, like refrigerators and TVs. One time, they even found a sex doll. They mentioned that it’s hard to catch the people who are doing this because it’s impossible to watch every street all the time.
According to the town council, they can’t put cameras on every corner. But they did put cameras near some glass containers because people often dump trash there. They caught 10 people dumping trash and gave them fines. They mentioned that they need to figure out how to stop people from dumping trash in the first place.
Aalter is having a special event called “Aalter Blinkt” on March 23rd, 2025. This event is all about teaching people how bad illegal dumping is and getting everyone to help clean up trash together. They hope that this will make people feel more responsible for keeping their town clean.
Officials mentioned that if this doesn’t work, they might have to make stricter rules or find other ways to solve the problem. If people want to help with the “Aalter Blinkt” event, they can sign up on the website www.aalter.be/aalter-blinkt.
Aalter has tried many things to fix the problem. In 2006, the town started a program called Aalter Proper. This program has a team of 10 people who clean up trash every day. The program has helped to keep the town clean, but the problem of illegal dumping hasn’t gone away.
Last year, there were 438 reports of people dumping trash illegally. That’s 115 more than the year before. No one knows why the problem is getting worse. Officials mentioned that it’s strange because Aalter has a place where people can drop off their trash for free. The mayor thinks that maybe the people dumping trash don’t live in Aalter.
