Geetbets (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Intermunicipal Ecowerf, the city of Zoutleeuw and the municipalities of Geetbets-Linter have called for a few waste bins that are highlighted and free apples and pears for those who sort waste properly, with the objective of reducing litter in the Hageland fruit plantations.
The Hageland Fruit Plantation Litter Reduction project implements waste management facilities together with consumer incentives in three communities of the Hageland region of Belgium, namely, Zoutleeuw, Geetbets, and Linter.
Supported by Ecowerf and Mooimakers, the initiative includes PMD (plastic/metal/drink cartons), GFT (organic waste), and residual waste bins made of recycled fruit crates, and free fruits are given for composting the waste.
The specific audience is employees of a company or people arriving in the areas for a short time, and educational campaigns are established with quantifiable goals that should focus on the reduction of littering by at least 20%.
The project is now in its third edition and involves six dedicated bike/shoe paths that contain a series of bins designed out of discarded crates of fruit growers. Particularly, those who deliver waste to the proper bins receive apples/pears free of charge through a hatch, which ensures their compliance immediately.
According to our 2022 litter audit along the identified routes, 6,146 waste items were found; dominant sources of litter were PMD, contributing to 31 % and residual waste marking 47%, including cigarette butts. At the same time, it is customary to provide periodic training to employees engaged in seasonal fruit picking to combat the problem of littering in the workplace.
What long-term strategies support the project’s sustainability?
The planning of Ecowerf entails multiple years of work that involve iterative collecting of data, engaging the public, and application of infrastructure. Based on the previous audits, there is a standard measure in terms of performance, which is the 20% litter reduction. As the fruit rewards are provided by local growers, the initiative enables resource efficiency and increases people’s engagement.
Such a training program will ensure that workers are constantly educated on the matter, especially during periods when many people are participating in the harvest, such as around the holidays or in mid-December, when some employees are on vacation while others have their families visiting them. The planning of this project makes it easy to expand to other areas of agriculture with the same issue of waste.
