Can a campaign and an innovative object finally clean up the Brussels canal?
A new awareness campaign and an "innovative object" designed to trap floating litter are being deployed to clean up the Brussels canal, according to Het Nieuwsblad.
In 30 seconds
- Het Nieuwsblad reports a new campaign plus an "innovative object" designed to trap floating waste and make the Brussels canal cleaner.
- The waterway is managed by the Port of Brussels; regional cleanliness and environmental oversight fall to Bruxelles-Propreté and Leefmilieu Brussel.
- The citizens' group Canal It Up has run volunteer kayak clean-ups on the canal for years to remove plastic and press for source reduction.
- Comparable passive-capture technology exists elsewhere, such as Amsterdam's Great Bubble Barrier operating since 2019.
The Brussels canal — the urban section of the Brussels–Scheldt maritime canal, known locally as the kanaal / le canal — runs north–south through the capital past neighbourhoods including Molenbeek, Anderlecht and Laken. It is a working waterway managed by the Port of Brussels (Haven van Brussel / Port de Bruxelles), used for freight barges, and simultaneously a public promenade and a chronic collector of floating litter. Cleanliness responsibilities are split between the Port, the regional waste agency Bruxelles-Propreté / Net Brussel, and the environment administration Leefmilieu Brussel / Bruxelles Environnement, while the citizens' group Canal It Up has campaigned on the issue for years.
Background
Concern over the state of the Brussels canal has built over the past decade, driven notably by the volunteer movement Canal It Up, which since the late 2010s has organised kayak clean-ups and pushed authorities to reduce litter at source. The Port of Brussels already uses skimmer vessels and litter traps. The new campaign and object, as reported by Het Nieuwsblad, are the latest addition to that layered, ongoing effort rather than a first attempt.
What to do
Residents can join Canal It Up clean-up sessions, report illegal dumping through Fix My Street Brussels and to Bruxelles-Propreté, use the Recy-K site in Anderlecht for bulky and recyclable waste, and cut the single-use packaging that accounts for much of the canal's floating litter.
Impact
Regional — The effort is squarely a Brussels-Capital Region matter, touching canal-side communes such as Molenbeek, Anderlecht and the City of Brussels, and involving regional bodies (the Port of Brussels, Bruxelles-Propreté, Leefmilieu Brussel). Success or failure will shape whether the region invests in more passive litter-capture devices along the waterway.
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This story was assembled from verified evidence, with its sources and reasoning recorded as it was written.