Ninove (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Ninove increases litter fines to €500 to combat illegal dumping. Mayor D’haeseleer plans more community guards, better camera use, and targeted penalties. The move aims to keep streets clean and orderly.
As VRT News reported, starting soon, anyone caught leaving litter in public areas in Ninove will face a fine of €500, up from the previous €350. City officials say illegal dumping remains a serious problem in Ninove, as it does in many other towns.
“Raising the maximum fine is sometimes the only way to get results,”
says D’haeseleer. Cleaning up dumped waste costs the city money.
“In the past, I’ve received several calls from people who were fined for throwing a cigarette butt on the ground. These are usually from the inspectors of the Flemish Public Waste Agency (OVAM), who operate completely independently. They immediately issue a very hefty fine. We want to get rid of that,”
D’haeseleer said.
What will Ninove’s €500 fines do to curb illegal dumping?
D’haeseleer says not all residents will be treated the same. Small infractions, like throwing away a cigarette butt, are still illegal, but first-time offenders may get a warning. Fines are applied for repeat offences. Household trash or large amounts of waste left in public spaces will result in the full fine.
“We want to make the penalties fit the offence,”
D’haeseleer explains.
“Our multi-year plan will include funding to hire additional community guards and administrative fines (GAS) officers, and we will ensure that cameras are used more efficiently. Anyone caught illegally dumping will certainly feel the pinch,”
D’haeseleer said.
Aalst, Antwerp, and Bruges already impose the same maximum fine for illegal dumping. Many smaller towns have similar fines, although €250 to €350 is still more common. In Brussels, fines are calculated per cubic meter of dumped waste, ranging from €500 to €1,000.
In 2018, in Ninove, officials began keeping track of cases in a systematic way, while also incrementally increasing fines to improve compliance. Similar implementations have occurred in other cities in recent years (approximately the last 10 years) Antwerp raised its fine to a maximum of €500 in 2015, Bruges did the same in 2017, and Aalst adopted a similar maximum fine of €500 in 2019. Brussels implemented a stricter initiative in 2020. In 2024, the authorities caught 102 people for illegal dumping compared to 89 in 2023.
