Surveillance and enforcement

We call this "additional placement" when waste is placed next to or near a collection container. This includes garbage bags, loose household waste, bulky waste, or cardboard boxes. Placing waste next to the collection container is prohibited.  

Our supervisors focus on the additional placements that are reported or that they observe during the day on weekdays. Emergency administrative enforcement doesn't require a red-handed situation. Given the enormous size of our area, that's simply not feasible.

Our supervisors check the garbage bags and examine the waste to identify its owner. If there are witnesses to the placement of the waste, our supervisors will speak with them.

Various measures have been taken to prevent additional waste disposal.  

Communication 

• Waardlanden and the municipalities have communicated about the changes in many ways, for example with letters to residents and brochures.  
• All changes are explained in detail on the Waardlanden website. 
• Our environmental coaches are frequently present in the neighborhood. They do this on their own initiative, but also at the request of organizations, such as community groups. They attend neighborhood meetings, markets, meetings with residents' groups, and other events. By providing residents with personalized information, we strive to increase their commitment to waste separation and a clean neighborhood.  
• The environmental caches support the growing group of volunteer litter pickers with good materials.  

Surveillance and enforcement 

• Since March 2023, Waardlanden has employed a team of inspectors. They handle waste that is dumped or placed near collection containers. 
• Supervisors are frequently present in the neighborhoods. They take immediate action when reports are received about garbage bags left next to the containers or bulky waste placed in public spaces. 
• Upon arrival, we take photos and then examine the waste. We often find clues about who it belongs to. We then immediately remove the garbage bags to avoid inconvenience to local residents. It can stink, create unsafe situations, and be hazardous to health. 
• After intensive monitoring, information, and warnings, urgent administrative enforcement has been applied since June 2023. This means that the cleanup costs of €206,50 are borne by the offender. 

Our supervisors open garbage bags and check them for address information to find the owner of the additional waste. This can be done, for example, through mail, envelopes, and medicine boxes. If that doesn't yield any results, or if it concerns bulky household waste, such as sofas or mattresses, we hope for witnesses. In that case, the supervisors will conduct a neighborhood investigation.

Cameras infringe on the privacy of our residents. This includes residents who don't break the rules and dispose of their waste correctly. There are regulations governing the use of cameras. It is the municipality's decision to implement camera surveillance. For now, we are focusing on conversations with residents and monitoring the streets.

Besides the high cleanup costs for this violation, our drivers can't easily empty the collection containers. Their work is significantly delayed if bags are left next to the containers. The area around the container must be empty before they can lift it.   

Additions also create a cluttered streetscape and are detrimental to safety and public health in a neighborhood. They create litter, vermin, and dangerous situations. Moreover, they lead to the loss of resources.  

You can actively contribute to a clean, waste-free neighborhood by properly separating your waste and raw materials at home and disposing of them correctly in the designated (collection) containers.

Residents can also challenge each other's behavior and encourage each other to take responsibility for a clean neighborhood. You can also report a full or broken container to your municipality or Waardlanden, so that swift action can be taken. Residents who want to do even more can help clean up litter. We are happy to provide materials and tips for organizing cleanups.

This way we keep our environment clean and tidy together. 

You can report additional placements on the Waardlanden website, with the Waardlanden app, and on your municipality's website. To quickly determine the location of the additional placement, it's helpful to include the container number. This number is located in the upper left corner of the container.  

We apply urgent administrative enforcement. We charge the costs of cleaning up the waste and thus eliminating the unsafe and unhealthy situation. This may feel like a fine, but it isn't. The advantage of urgent administrative enforcement is that the environment remains clean, because any contamination is cleaned up immediately.

Supervision focuses primarily on adding waste to collection containers or dumping waste in public spaces.

We charge for the costs of cleaning up the waste and eliminating the unsafe and unhealthy situation. The cost is set at €206,50 per violation. 

You can file an objection within six weeks of receiving the letter regarding the urgent administrative enforcement. Send the objection to the municipal executive board of your municipality.

The notice of objection must at least contain:

• Your name and address
• A description of the decision you are objecting to
• The reason(s) why you object
• Date and signature

Supervision & Enforcement is part of the waste and raw materials policy of the municipalities of Gorinchem, Molenlanden, Hardinxveld-Giessendam, and Vijfheerenlanden. This policy was adopted in 2021. The policy plan outlines how the municipalities, together with Waardlanden, aim to reduce the amount of residual waste from 223 kilograms in 2020 to 100 kilograms per person per year. To achieve this goal, waste must be separated more effectively. Periodic inspections and enforcement regarding proper separation behavior are part of the new policy. The practice of placing waste at underground containers is also being addressed, as this creates an unsafe and unhealthy neighborhood.  

If you witness a dumping, you can speak with the person who placed the waste. If you'd rather not do this, you can report the dumping to your municipality, on the Waardlanden website, or in the Waardlanden app. It's important to remove waste next to collection containers as quickly as possible to prevent further dumping.  

Waardlanden collects dumped waste in Gorinchem on behalf of the municipality of Gorinchem. The municipalities of Molenlanden, Hardinxveld-Giessendam, and Vijfheerenlanden collect dumped waste themselves. 

You have a yellow card on your container because it contains waste that shouldn't be there. We all make mistakes sometimes, or sometimes we don't know exactly what's supposed to be there. Our drivers have yellow cards for this purpose in their collection vehicles. By placing a yellow card on your container, we want to alert you that it contains waste that shouldn't be there. 

Our driver will indicate on the map exactly what the issue is. Don't worry. We won't issue an urgent administrative order, and your container will be emptied (this time) as usual. Please put your waste in the correct container and avoid a red card.

Ever wonder which bin a product or material belongs in? The separation guide helps! Go to waardlanden.nl/welkafvalwaar.

You have a red card on your container because it contains waste that is not allowed. Unfortunately, our driver was unable to empty your container. Our driver has indicated on the red card which waste is not allowed. 

Before you put the container out for the next collection, you must first remove any waste that doesn't belong in it. Place the waste in the correct container or take it to one of our recycling centers yourself.

Please note: We will not come back to empty your container. In your personal waste calendar see when the next collection day is. 

Ever wonder which bin a product or material belongs in? The separation guide helps! Go to waardlanden.nl/welkafvalwaar.

Before you put the container out for the next collection round, you must first remove any waste that does not belong in it. We will not return to empty your container. personal waste calendar You can see when the next collection day is. Place your waste in the correct container or take it to the recycling center yourself. 

Ever wonder which bin a product or material belongs in? The separation guide helps! Go to waardlanden.nl/welkafvalwaar.

During the inspections we perform to assess the quality of our raw materials, we do not record any personal data. We only indicate if there is anything in the container that shouldn't be there. We do not know who owns the container. Therefore, this inspection does not violate the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).