A new recycle park next to the Brussels canal has just opened in Anderlecht. At Recypark Demets there is room for 11 types of bulky waste and residents can do their bit for the circular economy in the re-use zone. A 500-square-metre skate park has also been created on site.
Recypark Demets is located next to the canal, on the border between Anderlecht, Molenbeek and the City of Brussels. ‘These are 3 densely populated municipalities. Moreover, the recycle park is close to the city centre, which is quite special. People can come here by car, but also on their bike,’ explains Jos Raymenants, deputy director-general of Net Brussel, the Brussels waste management agency.
A re-use zone is located at the entrance to the recycle park, to encourage people to think carefully about what they want to do with their things. In this way, Net Brussel, which operates the recycle park, wants to reduce the amount of waste that needs to be incinerated,’ Mr Raymenants says.
Brussels residents can leave 11 different types of bulky waste at the recycle park. ‘That ranges from bricks, metal and wood. People can deposit all that and then it is collected separately,’ says Mr Raymenants.
Recypark Demets is part of a European target that Brussels is working hard to achieve: ‘We still need to take serious steps in how we collect and process municipal household waste. Europe requires us to recycle 60% of our waste by 2030.’
‘Right now we are at 35%,’ says Mr Raymenants. ‘By opening recycle parks like this, we are making sure that Brussels residents have somewhere to go with their waste.’
Skaters welcome too!
The recycle park is more than just a recycling park, as a skate park has also been created on the same site. ‘The park will also serve as a meeting place for young people and skaters. Start them young is the motto! Here youngsters see how waste is separated and then they immediately learn how to deal with it themselves later on,’ Raymenants believes.