Genk (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): Littering and fly-tipping are major problems in Genk, Belgium with fines increasing significantly in recent years. Cities are using innovative tactics like surveillance cameras, Al and social media campaigns to combat these issues.
In 2023 Genk city gave out 1,297 fines with 915 for littering or people caught throwing trash on the street. This type of fines has been increasing a lot lately. In 2018 there were only 138 fines for these offenses. The proportion of littering fines has gone up from 29% in 2018 to 71% last year. By halfway through this year there have already been 447 fines nearing another record. Last year cleaning up litter cost Flemish cities 192 million euros with Genk spending around 2 million euros. Mayor Wim Dries says they are working extra hard to tackle this issue in the city.
What innovative tactics are Genk city using to combat littering and fly-tipping?
Litter is like small things like a dropped cigarette or candy wrapper while fly-tipping is dumping a lot of garbage in public on purpose. Mayor Dries says they want to change bad habits with campaigns. In the past they worked with Genk rappers for this. They made a hip-hop song in 2020 and this year influencer Benjamin Toon used social media videos. Out of the 915 fines 102 came from police reports and most were from inspectors focusing on waste. Minister Zuhal Demir allowed cities to hire more inspectors through OVAM and Genk took advantage of this. The inspectors watch the streets and if they see someone littering they get fined. This method is working well with 813 violations recorded last year in Genk.
For fly-tipping the police in Genk use 15 mobile cameras in places where it happens a lot like near glass and clothing containers. The cameras capture car number plates to catch the culprits. If there are no cars, the local police officer tries to recognize the people involved. Some sensitive spots in Genk for fly-tipping are the glass containers at Kempengalm hall the garbage can by the bus stop in Alex Galopinstraat and the new square behind EnergyVille in Thor Park. They also tried using surveillance cameras and AI at Hoevenzavel but it was challenging for the AI to detect litter due to the busy background. The pilot project is currently on hold.
How is Beringen combatting litter and fly-tipping with mobile cameras?
In Beringen they’re serious about tackling litter and fly-tipping. They have five mobile cameras to catch people in the act. Last year 57 folks were caught throwing trash like cigarette butts, packaging or cans on the ground. Six got fines for not putting out their garbage correctly and there were 180 reports of fly-tipping. The cameras are placed at spots like glass and clothing containers where dumping often happens. They even check garbage bags for clues like addresses to catch offenders. If the waste is over 1 cubic meter they involve the public prosecutor for legal action.
