Leuven ( Brussels Morning Newspaper ) – The PVDA in Leuven staged protests against a price surge in garbage bags that increased to €14.50 for smaller and €29 for larger sizes bags from January 2025.
The Belgian opposition party PVDA demonstrated outside of city hall because Leuven effectively tripled garbage bag prices starting January 1, 2025. Small garbage bags in rolls now cost €14.50 per roll rather than €11.25, while large bags now sell for €29 per roll instead of €22.50. Garbage bags in Leuven currently cost more than in both Antwerp and Brussels.
The PVDA obtained 1,000 signatures backing their call to decrease garbage prices because the increased costs might result in more people dumping their waste illegally. The waste management system in Leuven defends the price increase, according to Alderman Thomas Van Oppens, because the city implements more fair waste fees than competing municipalities due to their higher waste taxes.
The rising garbage bag costs stem from a national shift toward different waste management policies in Belgium that separate municipalities into weight-based pricing and flat-rate scheme providers.
We have a ‘free garbage bin’ where people can dispose of their waste, as an alternative to the overpriced garbage bags,
says city council member Anton Nilis (PVDA), who fears that the more expensive garbage will lead to more fly-tipping.
Leuven was already very expensive to live in; for many people, this price increase is really the last straw.
The party collected 1,000 signatures in a month to support that demand.
We are being inundated with testimonies from people who want this measure to be reversed,
says Nilis.
Hopefully, the majority will not throw all those signatures from concerned Leuven residents in the trash.
How does Leuven’s pricing compare to other cities?
During the PVDA meeting at the city council, Anton Nilis questioned whether increased rates would make illegal garbage disposal worse. Leuven stands among the most costly cities in which to reside, and many inhabitants would bear difficulties from increased garbage disposal costs.
In one month, the party collected 1,000 valid signatures, showing widespread opposition toward the new pricing system. Nilis pleaded with the city council to properly address these citizen concerns. The pricing change mirrors wider Belgian waste policy patterns that show weight-based billing coexisting with bag-based collection methods.
But Alderman for Waste Policy Thomas Van Oppens (Groen) defends the price increase of garbage bags.
Leuven is not the most expensive city at all. In other city centers such as Hasselt and Mechelen, the bags may be cheaper, but you pay a higher general waste tax,
he says.
We choose to make those who produce more waste pay more. For us, that is the logic itself. In Leuven you are often better off, even after indexation. This action is plain populism,
concludes Van Oppens.
