The Mayor of Meise (Flemish Brabant) Gerda Van den Brande (Flemish nationalist) says that at loads 14 truckloads worth of waste were dumped outside the Neromhof, next to the A12 motorway last week. Due to its scale, the fly-tipping incident in Meise attracted the attention of the national media when the illicit dump of rubble was discovered last week. Mayor Van den Brande says that measures will be taken to try and ensure that there is no repeat.
The mountain of rubble on Neromhof’s car park can been seen from some distance away. Ms Van den Brande describes it as “A white oasis of rubbish”. The clear-up operation took longer than would otherwise have been the case because of the Christmas holidays.
An inspector was present during the clear-up to check for any signs that could lead to the identification of those responsible. Both last week and today (Monday 29 December) names of those possibly responsible for the fly-tipping were found. The information has been passed onto the police. Those reponsible will be fined.
The level of fines issued for fly-tipping depends on how much has been dumped. Those found guilty of fly-tipping also have to pay to clear up what they have dumped. Ms Van den Brande (photo below) told VRT News that the culprits come from Brussels.
Local resident André has had enough of fly-tipping in his area. It’s not the first time that rubbish has been dumped near to the Neromhof. However, “Now it’s extreme. Everyone thinks it’s a scandal. Something needs to be done urgently”.
Fly-tippers are able to make their getaway easily via an emergency slip road from the A12. CCTV cameras and concrete blocks were placed there in the past to prevent fly-tipping, but this was to no avail.
There are plans to place a barrier like those found at level crossings in order to prevent fly-tippers using the slip road. Meanwhile, Mayor Van den Brande is considering investing in portable CCTV cameras to prevent the problem from simply moving on to another location in Meise.