High fines for dumping garbage

Starting on 15 November 2011 residents of The Hague who put their rubbish out on the street too early can face a fine of € 104.

Underground rubbish container

The municipality hopes that the new approach will put an end to a huge source of irritation. Each year approximately 13,000 garbage bags are either put outside too early, placed next to the underground container (instead of in it) or dumped in the woods or bushes. Seagulls, dogs and cats rip them open and the contents end up strewn all over the street.

Immediate fine

At present it's nearly impossible for the municipality to charge people a fine even if the ‘recipient’ is known because an address label is found in the garbage bag. The polluter can simply deny that the garbage bag is his. Sometimes the suspected polluter goes to the ombudsman to complain about way the municipality goes about its work. This will now become more difficult.

As of 15 November the Municipality of The Hague will make use of a different legal option. In order to fine known polluters, The Hague will introduce an ‘emergency administrative order.’ At present the municipality only makes use of the legal option of an ‘administrative punishment’ of € 70.

Denial is insufficient

The use of the ‘emergency administrative order’ turns things around. The onus will now be upon the polluter to prove that the garbage bag is not his.

According to Deputy Mayor Sander Dekker (Finance and City Management), The Hague examined how other cities are tackling this problem. Rotterdam and Utrecht had good experience with the emergency administrative order.  Some 12 % of the cases led to an appeal but the municipalities were nearly always found to have acted correctly. The order is used on average 14,000 times a year in Rotterdam, and in 99% of the cases the municipality is able to collect the fine.

Big fines

The new rules enable the municipality to recover the cost of garbage removal from the polluter. This results in a fine of € 70 plus € 34. If someone is a repeat offender, he will get a higher fine. Someone who has put out his rubbish too early or improperly for the third time can expect a fine of € 312 (three times € 104).

Click here to read more about how to put out your waste.