“This is not Enkhuizen anymore,” sighs a resident next to a pile of garbage bags. While walking her dog, she has to go into the street because the sidewalk around the containers is littered with trash. “It’s still winter now, but in the summer it starts to stink. That attracts vermin,” warns another resident. “Not a calling card for our city.”
The new waste system, in force since September last year, was intended to keep garbage bags from the streets and prevent litter. So far, this has not always been successful. Collection containers regularly become full or suffer from technical malfunctions. “Large bags sometimes don’t fit, causing the valve to get stuck. Then you can go home with your garbage,” says a resident.
Waste dumps
There is little point in looking for another container: residents can only use their pass at the container in their immediate vicinity. Moreover, both the municipality and residents suspect that people without a pass place their waste next to the container, which encourages new dumping. “If there is already a pile of bags, it is tempting to put your own waste there too,” says a resident. “People automatically assume that the container is full as soon as there is garbage next to it.”