For example, enforcer Brend and bus shelter manager Harry prepare for the festive damage

For Harry Hepping from Emmen, January 2 is just about the busiest day of the year. The Drenthe regional manager of RBL Outdoor, a company that owns and maintains thousands of bus shelters, should in principle provide bus shelters with new posters for paying advertising companies. Often he barely touches a poster that day. It is the broom that concerns him. Sweeping up bus shelters.

Dozens of bus shelters are destroyed every year around New Year’s Eve in Drenthe and Groningen. Last year, according to Hepping, 78 glass walls were destroyed in December in Drenthe alone. Hepping can easily point out ‘beloved’ bus shelters. “Just hold your breath. In Roswinkel, for example, a bus shelter is rammed down every year. It will be completely wiped from the world.”

There is little you can do about it, sighs Hepping. Cameras are not allowed due to privacy rules and surveillance is impossible. “If we could, we would put someone at every booth with a shotgun.” The damage caused by vandals will be borne by the Limburg company. “We don’t want any insurance. The bus shelters are ours, so the damage is ours too,” says Hepping.

Discussions in advance

Governments and companies with properties in public spaces are preparing for New Year’s Eve – and the handling of damage afterwards. In many municipalities there is extra supervision on the street. An attempt is often made in advance to make contact with youth groups to prevent inconvenience as much as possible.

For example, Mayor Jan Zwiers of Central Drenthe visited several villages and carbide teams. In this municipality, things sometimes got out of hand in Smilde, Hoogersmilde and Bovensmilde, although New Year’s Eve has been relatively quiet in these places in recent years. Last New Year’s Eve, the tent party returned to Smilde, which attracted many young people from the area.

“We treat these villages no differently than other villages. We are confident that the entire municipality will remain pleasant, just like last year,” says spokesperson Jan Arendz. This year, for the first time in Coevorden, carbide shooters are required to report. “This way we know exactly where everyone is,” says spokesman Jeroen Grendelman.

Past well-known addresses in Pekela

In the municipality of Pekela, the field service is already busy on Thursday to subject well-known places to an inspection in advance. “Most damage is caused by fire,” says enforcer Brend Kuiters. While his colleagues remove trash cans and close waste containers, Kuiters runs through a list of addresses.

These are places where there are still high-risk objects that could possibly be set on fire, such as containers and trailers. It is prohibited to leave these items on the side of the public road, says Kuiters. There is little he can do about what is on private land. “But then I also appeal to people to warn them about the risk. People respond positively to that.”

Especially if they are told that they can dispose of their waste for free three days before New Year’s Eve. A gift from the municipality to prevent large ‘bonfires’ from causing damage.

Kuiter’s van bumps along the cobbled road along the Pekelder Hoofddiep. It is one of the last rounds he still has to complete: most addresses now have a curl behind them. “But this container still has to go,” he says, as he parks the car next to the Pekelder Hoofddiep. In front of him is a container full of demolition waste from a renovation. There’s a car next to it. Fire in the container also means damage to that car.

Ten million damage

On average, around ten million euros worth of damage is caused during New Year’s Eve, reports the Association of Insurers. Culprits include stray flares (especially with strong winds), out-of-control fires or simply rowdiness. The 10 million excludes all damage that is not reimbursed.

Kuiters and his colleagues have been working hard in recent weeks to curb the risk of damage during New Year’s Eve. There are posters on his desk with pictures of broken traffic signs. ‘Demolition costs you knots!’ it says. A new sign can easily cost 350 euros if you get caught.

Another poster calls for only making fire in fire barrels. Some northern municipalities such as Pekela and Hoogeveen have distributed these for free in recent years. Kuiters: “Fire in the street destroys the road. It costs a lot of money to fix that.” Giving away tons was cheaper – and safer, according to the municipality.

Damaged mail is stored

Another company that already knows that it will receive a bill after New Year’s Eve: PostNL. To prevent damage as much as possible, the postal company will close all mailboxes and parcel lockers from December 29 to January 2 at 12 noon. “It is of course extremely annoying and difficult to imagine that people do this,” says spokeswoman Annemieke Herberigs.

This does not change the fact that every year many mailboxes are destroyed by fireworks. Annoying for PostNL, but especially for people who send mail, says Herberigs. “Mail has emotional value for people. In such a case, we check whether the mail that was in such a destroyed mailbox can still be delivered, even if it is damaged.”

Damaged mail with addresses that have become illegible is always stored by PostNL. “Sometimes it is later possible to deliver the contents of such a damaged piece of mail to the right place based on a question received by our customer service.”

‘Letter for a supporter’

Meanwhile, Kuiters encounters a potentially dangerous situation in Nieuwe Pekela. A trailer full of junk and banana boxes, parked next to bushes and another car. If Kuiters has something to say about it (and he does), the car will leave there. “If the owner is not yet home, he will receive a letter stating that we will take the trailer and store it at his expense.” He can then pick it up again after the New Year.

Kuiters hopes that his work has prevented a lot of damage and that a happy new year begins for everyone.