Genk (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – In Genk, fly-tipping worsened after a gardener mishandled garden waste. Alderman Alessandro Cucchiara urged better communication. The city planned early trash pickup the next week after a missed notification.
A fly-tipping problem happened in Genk. It started with a small pile of trash. People saw the trash and thought it was okay to dump their garbage there. The fly-tipping got so big that it made the area look ugly.
According to the officials, the problem started because a new gardener didn’t know how to get rid of the waste from a neglected plot. They mentioned that the city needs to clean up this kind of waste quickly. If they don’t, the problem will get worse.
How did Genk’s new rules lead to a fly-tipping problem?
The city of Genk has new rules to make sure gardens are kept clean. According to Alessandro Cucchiara, the alderman in charge of this, the city didn’t explain it well enough, so the trash piled up.
He mentioned that it is important for the city to talk clearly with people and fix problems quickly. If they don’t, small problems can get much bigger, especially where people throw away trash illegally.
The new owner of a property wanted to start cleaning up the garden before they officially owned the property. They made a deal with the old owners to remove the waste and put it on the street for collection. There was a rule that the new owner had to tell the city in advance so they could schedule a special pickup.
The city didn’t want the extra trash to interfere with their regular trash collection schedule. The city would then bill the old owners for the service. They mentioned that this plan was made to keep things organised and make sure the regular trash collection wasn’t messed up.
The new homeowner and their team wanted to do things right, but things didn’t go as planned. They cleaned up the garden and put all the trash on the street for collection, but they forgot to tell the city first. They called the city after they were done, but it was too late.
The city couldn’t change their schedule because it hadn’t been told in advance. So, the trash stayed on the street for longer than it should have. To fix the problem, the city said they would come to pick up the trash early next week.
