Ploggers never collected litter again: “You can’t get there without them”

“These figures are more than a statistic,” says Mayor Bart Somers (For Mechelen). “They show that many Mechelen residents feel responsible for their neighborhood. No matter how hard a city invests, without people who help take care of their neighborhood, you won’t get there,” he says.

Major Maintenance

This cooperation must be accelerated even further in the coming years. In 2025, the city rolled out the Major Maintenance route for the first time in Nekkerspoel and Battel. On a Sunday, residents walked through their neighborhood together, picking up litter and reporting broken infrastructure or illegal dumping. In the week that followed, city services started working en masse to resolve these reports.

“That model will be further rolled out in the coming years. In 2026, the city will tackle six neighborhoods. From 2027, every neighborhood will be inspected at least once a year, and from 2028 the ambition is to organize such an intensive maintenance event in every neighborhood twice a year. At the same time, the illegal dumping cell will also be strengthened to track down offenders in a more targeted manner. Anyone who continues to illegally dump or leave litter behind is consciously choosing to respect the commitment of others. Then we will act consistently,” the mayor added.