Monitoring and enforcement

We speak of an additional placement when waste is placed next to or near a collection container. Such as rubbish bags, loose household waste, bulky waste or cardboard boxes. Placing waste next to the collection container is prohibited.

Our supervisors focus on the outposts that are reported or that they notice during the day on weekdays. To proceed to urgent administrative enforcement, no flagrante delicto is required. Nor is that feasible given the huge size of our area.

Our supervisors check the rubbish bags and look at the rubbish to find out the owner. If there are witnesses to placing the rubbish, our supervisors will talk to them.

Several measures have been taken to prevent by-passing of waste. 

Communications  

• Waardlanden and the municipalities have been discussing the changes in many ways communicated, for example with resident letters and leaflets. 
• All the changes are explained in detail on Waardlanden's website. 
• Our environmental coaches can be found a lot in the neighbourhood. On their own initiative, but also at the request of associations, for example. For instance at neighbourhood meetings, at markets, at meetings with residents' groups and other occasions. By informing residents in a personal way, we try to increase their involvement in waste separation and a clean neighbourhood. 
• The environmental coaches support the growing group of volunteer litter pickers with good material. 

Monitoring and enforcement  

• Since March 2023, Waardlanden has employed a team of supervisors. They deal with waste dumped somewhere or put down at collection containers. 
• Supervisors are present in the neighbourhoods a lot. They take immediate action when a report comes in about rubbish bags left next to containers or bulky rubbish put down in public spaces. 
• Upon arrival, photographs are taken and then we examine the rubbish. Very often, we find clues in it about who it belongs to. We clean up the rubbish bags immediately afterwards, so that local residents are not inconvenienced. It smells, it can be unsafe and dangerous to health. 
• After intensive monitoring, informing and warning, urgent administrative enforcement has been applied since June 2023. This means the clean-up costs of €206.50 are borne by the offender.

Our supervisors open rubbish bags and check them for address details to find the owner of the outpost. This can be done through postal items, envelopes and medicine boxes, for example. If this is unsuccessful or if the waste is bulky, such as sofas or mattresses, we hope to find witnesses. In that case, the supervisors conduct neighbourhood investigations.

Cameras infringe on the privacy of our residents. Even of residents who do not break the rules and dispose of their waste properly. There are rules for the use of cameras. It is a municipality's decision to proceed with camera surveillance. For now, we are first putting our efforts on talks with residents and street surveillance.

Apart from the high clean-up costs for this offence, our drivers cannot easily empty the collection containers. Their work is therefore considerably delayed if there are bags next to the containers. This is because the plate around the container has to be empty before they can lift.  

Sidewalks also give a messy streetscape and are bad for a neighbourhood's safety and public health. It creates litter, pests and dangerous situations. Moreover, they lead to loss of resources.

You can actively contribute to a clean neighbourhood without waste by properly separating your waste and raw materials at home and disposing of them properly in the appropriate (collection) containers.

Residents can also call each other to account for their behaviour and encourage each other to take responsibility for a clean neighbourhood. You can also report a full or broken container to your local council or Waardlanden so that action can be taken quickly. Residents who want to do even more can help clean up litter. We are happy to help with materials and tips to organise clean-up activities.

This is how we keep our environment clean and tidy together.

You can report additional placements on the Waardlanden website, using the Waardlanden app and on the website of your municipality. To quickly locate the location of the incident, it is useful if you state the number of the container. This number is at the top left of the container. 

We apply urgent administrative enforcement. We charge for the cost of clearing the rubbish to remove the unsafe and unhealthy situation. This may feel like a fine, but it is not. The advantage of urgent administrative enforcement is that the environment is left clean, as pollution is cleaned up immediately.

Monitoring mainly focuses on adding waste to the collection containers or dumping waste in public areas.

We charge the cost of clearing the waste to remove the unsafe and unhealthy situation. The cost is set at €206.50 per offence. 

You can submit a notice of objection within six weeks of receiving the letter about the urgent administrative order. Send the notice of objection to the municipal executive of your municipality.

The objection must at least include:

• Your name and address
• A description of the decision you are objecting to
• The reason(s) why you object
• Date and signature

Supervision & Enforcement is part of the waste and raw materials policy of the municipality of Gorinchem, Molenlanden, Hardinxveld-Giessendam and Vijfheerenlanden. This policy was adopted in 2021. The policy plan sets out how the municipalities, together with Waardlanden, intend to reduce the amount of residual waste from 232 kilograms in 2020 to 100 kilograms per person per year in 2025. To achieve this goal, waste must be better separated. Periodic checks and the use of enforcement on correct separation behaviour are part of the new policy. Placing waste at the underground container is also addressed, as it creates an unsafe and unhealthy neighbourhood.  

If you witness an additional placement, you can talk to the person depositing the waste. If you prefer not to do this, you can report the incident to your local council, the Waardlanden website or the Waardlanden app. This is because it is important to clear away rubbish next to collection containers as quickly as possible to prevent more by-placements. 

Dumped waste in Gorinchem is collected by Waardlanden on behalf of the municipality of Gorinchem. The municipalities of Molenlanden, Hardinxveld-Giessendam and Vijfheerenlanden collect dumped waste themselves. 

You have a yellow card attached to your container because there is rubbish in your container that should not be in it. We all make mistakes or sometimes don't know exactly what is meant. This is what our drivers have yellow cards for in the collection truck. By hanging a yellow card on your container, we want to point out to you that there is waste in your container that should not be there. 

Our driver will indicate on the map exactly what it is about. Don't worry. We will not resort to emergency administrative enforcement and your container will be emptied as usual (this time).Put your waste in the right container and avoid a red card

Do you ever doubt which bin a product or material belongs in? The separation guide helps! Go to waardlanden.nl/well-waste-true.

You have a red card attached to your container because there is rubbish in your container that should not be there. Our driver was unfortunately unable to empty your container because of this. Our driver has indicated on the red card which waste is in it that is not allowed. 

Before putting the container back on the road at the next collection round, you should first remove any waste that does not belong in it. Put the waste in the appropriate container or bring it yourself to one of our environmental centres.

Note: We will not return to empty your container as yet. In your personal waste calendar you will see when the next collection day is. 

Do you ever doubt which bin a product or material belongs in? The separation guide helps! Go to waardlanden.nl/well-waste-true.

Before you put the container back on the road at the next collection round, you must first remove any waste that does not belong in it. We will not come back to empty your container after all. In your personal waste calendar you will see when the next collection day is. Put the waste in the right container or take it to the environmental centre yourself.

Do you ever doubt which bin a product or material belongs in? The separation guide helps! Go to waardlanden.nl/well-waste-true.

When we carry out checks to see the quality of raw materials, we do not record any personal data. We only indicate if there is something in the container that does not belong in it. We do not know to whom the container belongs. Therefore, this check does not violate the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).