Household rubbish mountain rose by nearly 6% last year: CBS

Photo: DutchNews.nl
Carpets to try to stop dumping at underground containers. Photo: DutchNews.nl

The amount of waste produced by households in the Netherlands rose by 5.7% last year, the biggest increase in 25 years, national statistics agency CBS said on Tuesday.

In total, the amount of waste per person rose by 29 kilos, much of which was due to rubbish which cannot be recycled.

Being confined to home during the lockdown led to an increase in garden waste, as people spent more time on their outdoor spaces. The amount of food waste also rose because eating out was  not an option for most of the year, the CBS said.

Council wardens in Amsterdam handed out over 20,000 fines to people dumping rubbish in the street last year, and investigated some 30,000 complaints about waste since June, the Parool reported in April.

Some 6% of the fines went to companies, the rest to private individuals who were identified by addresses left on cardboard boxes or on envelopes in bin bags.

The city has also brought in 30 extra rubbish lorries to collect the waste. People caught dumping rubbish face a fine of €95 but this can go up to €1,250 for persistent offenders.

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