Tiles gone, green in: that’s how Zoetermeer scored at the NK Tegelwippen

Replacing as many tiles as possible with grass, flower beds, trees or facade gardens: that is the goal of the NK Tile Wippen. The fun National Championships are now over and the results are known. How well did Zoetermeer do?

Zoetermeer finished in 24th place in the large municipalities category with 1,124 tiles removed between March and November 2025. A total of 25 municipalities participated in that category. Across the Netherlands, 5.9 million tiles were replaced.

360 football fields of greenery

The NK Tegelwippen is an initiative of creative agency Frank Lee. “Our living environment is highly petrified. All those stones do not cool on a hot day and do not allow water to pass through when it rains,” the agency said. “That rainwater can then overload the sewer or run into your basement. More greenery counteracts this.”

In total, the tile counter in the Netherlands now stands at 20 million removed tiles, calculated from the first edition in 2020. That is an additional 360 football fields of greenery.

Show your garden

Did you participate in the National Championships and transform your gray tiled garden into a green oasis where squirrels play, a waterfall cascades down, butterflies dance and where the scent of jasmine and lavender predominates? Okay, of course it doesn’t have to be that exaggerated. But we do know whether you participated and what your garden looks like now.

If you have photos of before and after the transformation of your garden, please send them to [email protected]. Also tell us why you tackled your garden and what kind of work goes into it!