Early next year the city of Bruges(West Flanders) is introducing a new public litter bin system on Steenstraat that leads from ‘t Zand to the Markt Square. Today bins there have to be emptied up to six times a day during busy periods, which involves a lot of work. The new bins will be connected to an underground container that can hold up to 1,000 litres, instead of the current 80 litres.
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Bruges to install new city centre refuse bins that can handle up to 1,000 litres of waste
Colin Clapson
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Early next year, 23 underground containers will be installed on Steenstraat and on the Markt Square. They will connect to public litter bins in the street above. That should make it possible to allow residents and the many visitors to deposit much more waste in the bins. And that is necessary, because on busy days the bins in the area now fill up very quickly.
Unique in the Benelux
Underground containers are already being used abroad, in Paris for example, but what makes the system in Bruges special is the way the containers are emptied. ‘In most other places, they have to be lifted out of the ground to remove the waste,’ says alderman Mercedes Van Volcem. ‘In Bruges a kind of hoover will be used, which pulls the waste out of the containers. That involves a lot less work. The approach is unique in Belgium, even in the Benelux’
Bruges plans even more containers
The city council would also like to install underground waste containers in other places across Bruges, although it is not yet clear exactly where. ‘It has to be in busy areas,’ explains alderman Van Volcem, ’but above all the plans have to be technically possible. A container, measuring 2 by 2 metres, can't just be put anywhere. So that still needs to be investigated.’