Catastrophic trash levels in Matongé becomes election issue
The accumulation of wastes in Matongé could become a significant stake for the upcoming local elections.
Brussels is often criticised for its mismanagement of trash; when tourists or businessmen pop down in Brussels for a couple of days, one of the first things they point out is the presence of trash bags in the streets. This has been the case for years without much change.
Living in a city where trash bags lie in the street one or two nights per week is perhaps necessary, but living in a neighbourhood where trashes has been accumulating for days and weeks is clearly a separate issue. That’s what some residents really regret when it comes to Matongé. If you have a walk near the Cinéma Vendôme, you could sometimes pass by hills of trashes.
Both the residents and the retailers are worried about the continuous situation, as there has been no change recently. if this administrative inertia continues, Matongé could suffer from a bad reputation on a long-term basis.
As the local elections are coming in October, this issue could come back at the top of the agenda. Geoffroy Kensier, who leads the list ‘Objectif XL’, affiliated to CDH, published a press release some days ago which aims to tackle that scourge. “For years the Matongé neighbourhood has been in an indignant clean condition for the capital of Europe “, he said. “not improving the property of the neighbourhood is a political mistake”, Mr. Kensier added, after he denounced the fatality of the coalition, composed by MR, PS, and Défi.
It seems the local majority has called the Region several times to accelerate the pace of garbage collection, but nothing has been improved so far, according to Viviane Teitelbaum (MR), in charge of property at the commune. Instead of encouraging this process, Bruxelles-Propreté points out the lack of civility and the lack of compliance with the rules to explain the dirtiness of the streets.
