Litter lying around on the streets and in nature is called litter. Litter is left behind or thrown away by people. Examples include cigarette butts, chewing gum and packaging, such as drinks cans, bottles and candy wrappers. This causes a lot of annoyance. It is bad for people, animals and nature. Moreover, it attracts vermin and cleaning up costs society a lot of money. 

Waste on the streets and in green spaces decays very slowly. Chewing gum only decomposes after at least 20 years, and a beverage can hardly decomposes at all. Some raw materials, such as glass and plastic, do not even decompose at all. Therefore, always throw waste in a public rubbish bin or take it home. This way, you can separate it properly. Drinks cans and bottles now have a deposit, so you can even return them.   

Clearances

Do you want to keep your street, green area, schoolyard or shopping area clean, alone or with a group, and organise clean-up actions to do so? We will help you with materials and tips. Together, we keep our surroundings clean and beautiful.

It's contagious: a place we actively keep clean stays cleaner. And clean-ups are fun to do, you are immediately outside having fun.

How does it work?

Samen Schoon, Samen Blij!If you organise the action(s), we will help you with the necessary items:

  • Safety vests
  • Rubbish bags
  • Prickers
  • Gloves

Afterwards, we will come by with one of our trucks and dispose of the bags of litter. Or, if you occasionally have a full bag of litter, throw it in an underground container for residual waste in the neighbourhood. Get involved too! 

> Send an e-mail to our environmental coaches Nelleke and Ingrid And we will work together.

Do you regularly pick up litter?

Waardlanden and the municipalities are very grateful to you for voluntarily picking up litter and helping to keep our beautiful surroundings clean and safe. Picking up any kind of litter is a step in the right direction towards making our region more beautiful and cleaner. Some pick up litter while walking the dog, others go out on a fixed day a week or month. As a litter picker, you decide when and how often you pick up litter.  

No charge for disposing of litter

Everyone who helps keep our environment clean should be able to dispose of shredded litter in a residual waste collection container. With our special litter pass, from 1 January 2024, you will be able to open nearby residual waste collection containers free of charge to dispose of shredded litter. The introduction of the recycling tariff in Gorinchem, Hardinxveld-Giessendam and Molenlanden will therefore not cause you to pay more to throw away picked-up litter. You only pay for offering your household residual waste. The recycling tariff will not apply to residents of Vijfheerenlanden in 2024. This municipality will decide on the recycling tariff after an evaluation of the effects of the other measures. 

Apply for litter pass 

Are you interested in a litter pass? Contact our environmental coaches at milieucoach@waardlanden.nl. They will process your application. You will receive an application form by e-mail to apply for the litter pass and the terms of use. This is because we like to make clear agreements in advance with each litter picker about the use of the litter pass.You can find the terms of use Of the litter pass.

Registration of personal data

We use the details you provide when you apply for the litter pass to officially register you as a litter volunteer. And to keep you informed of news and developments concerning litter.We register the deposits you make with your litter pass. We use this data to check whether you are using the litter pass according to the terms of use. To investigate Waardlanden's use and policy objectives with the litter pass, we make reports of the registered deposits. Would you like more information on how Waardlanden processes personal data around waste collection? Take a look at waardlanden.nl/privacy.

Do you have a question about the litter pass?

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the litter pass here. Do you have another question? Ask us your question. We will do our best to answer your question to the best of our ability. And you help complete this list of frequently asked questions right away. 

Our newsletter for litter pickers

Our special newsletter for litter pickers will keep you informed from News, campaigns, interesting facts and results around litter.

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