Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Flowers have been planted in the Rogier metro station in Brussels, one of the city’s most-used stations. Brussels Environment and the non-profit organization Worms have also given commuters honey and lettuce plants. Both organizations are therefore starting the Compost Days, which will take place next weekend, 17 and 18 May.
In Brussels’ Rogier metro station, a flower garden has been installed at one of the city’s most active transport hubs to promote awareness for Compost Days on 17 and 18 May. Brussels Environment and the non-profit Worms gave away free honey and lettuce plants to commuters, cultivated by a farmer-flower grower in Anderlecht. The initiative aims to develop urban composting and gardening; 10% of Brussels’ citizens already use individual compost facilities, and there are 218 collective compost sites in Brussels, as reported by VRT.
The Compost Days campaign focuses on the environmental and economic advantages of composting, such as diminishing organic waste (40-60% of household waste), as well as getting free natural fertilizer.
The event is “Compost in Fuif,” with workshops by guides in sustainable soil management and experts from Brussels Environment on 17 May at L’Extension in Sint-Gillis. Thirty collective composting sites are to be opened on 18 May for public visits, as well as four educational walks. The initiative complements the Good Soil strategy of integrated waste management.
What is the history behind Brussels’ Compost Days and urban gardening initiatives?
The compost days held in Brussels have a long history connected to this city’s mission to handle organic waste in an environmentally friendly manner and raise environmental consciousness. As far back as the late 1990s, the Brussels Environment (IBGE) promoted decentralised composting and called local people to compost garden and kitchen waste individually or communally. Such an approach will minimise refuse sent to incinerators and landfills and cycle naturally in the region by converting organic matter into valuable compost for soil enrichment.
In recent years, the city has also extended these efforts, opening neighbourhood composting facilities, such as the first of seven that were opened in 2023, as alternatives to the mandatory orange bag food waste pickups. These efforts are aided by trained volunteer “Compost Masters”, who teach the public on developing methods of composting and help organise community projects.
