Dutch people are reasonably satisfied with the cleanliness in their neighborhood. They rate it with an average of 7.3. The Frisians appear to be the most content with a 7.6 and Flevolanders score the lowest with a 7.1. Yet there is also something to complain about. We are most annoyed by waste lying next to the containers, dog poop and bottles and cans lying around. The solution? Higher fines and community service.
This is evident from a poll by the Panelinzicht agency, commissioned by this site. 4708 people participated in the study. The questions were about the litter in their immediate living environment.
A quarter of Dutch people are confronted with waste lying around in the street or in the neighborhood every day. This applies more often to people in the city (30 percent) than to people outside of it (17 percent).
Another quarter encounter rubbish somewhere several times a week. It is most often located along roads or cycle paths, but also in residential areas or the city center, in parks and public gardens or next to schools.
Dog poop and butts
People are most annoyed by waste lying next to containers (39 percent). About a third are also unhappy about dog poop, bottles and cans, butts and fast food packaging. It is striking that two-thirds of Dutch people indicate that they never throw anything on the street. A quarter rarely do that.
Only 1 percent admit that they often leave mess behind. And less than half of those surveyed dare to say something when they see this happening. About the same number of people never do that.
To tackle polluters, higher fines (37 percent) or clean-up community service (ditto) are most often chosen. People think that laziness is the main cause of the polluter’s behavior. The lack of a sense of responsibility, poor upbringing and a shortage of enforcers and waste bins are also often mentioned.
Free bulky waste collection
There appears to be very broad support for the always free collection of bulky waste by municipalities. Three-quarters of people think that this can prevent dumping. At the same time, 62 percent are satisfied with how often the garbage truck comes by.
When it comes to keeping the neighborhood clean, 71 percent indicate that this is the responsibility of the residents themselves. More than a fifth place this at the municipality.
More than a quarter of people also indicate that they actively clean up mess in their immediate environment (almost 40 percent emphatically do not do this). And 12 percent of people have organized something to work together.
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