Brussels Waste Collection at Breaking Point as Hiring Freeze Bites

Brussels’ public waste collection agency, Bruxelles-Propreté (Net Brussel), is operating at near-saturation levels as a regional hiring moratorium prevents it from replacing departing staff, leaving uncollected waste piling up on sidewalks across the capital. The crisis, which first became visible in the municipality of Forest earlier this month, now threatens to escalate into a full-scale collapse of collection services.

A Moratorium with Consequences

The root cause lies in a hiring freeze imposed by the new Brussels regional government, which took office in June 2024. Since April 1, 2026, all public administrations in the region have been prohibited from recruiting new staff as part of an austerity drive to control spending. For Bruxelles-Propreté, the timing could not have been worse.

According to Le Soir, the agency has already lost approximately 20 waste collection agents since April 1 due to the non-renewal of fixed-term contracts and retirements that cannot be replaced under the moratorium. The situation is set to worsen dramatically: the agency projects 180 departures in 2026, of which 165 are operational roles such as garbage collectors and drivers.

Hundreds of Vacancies Looming

State Secretary for Public Hygiene Audrey Henry (MR) has warned that the true scale of the problem is even larger. Speaking in March, she revealed that when confirmed departures, existing vacancies, and seasonal needs are combined, the potential volume of vacant posts could exceed 250 in 2026 — mainly in operational positions.

As RTBF reported, this could mean the cessation of approximately one-third of door-to-door collection rounds, the closure of all six regional Recypark sites, and the end of container collections for apartment buildings, including social housing complexes.

Visible Consequences on the Streets

The first signs of trouble emerged on May 7, when waste collection failed in three zones of Forest (Vorst). DHnet reported that yellow recycling bags remained uncollected near the stadium, around Place Saint-Denis, and along the border with Saint-Gilles.

Simon De Beer (PTB), Forest’s Alderman for Public Hygiene, described the situation as intolerable. “This is the first time this has happened, outside of a strike, since I’ve been in charge of Public Hygiene,” he told DHnet. “If the government doesn’t act quickly, we will soon be living in an open-air landfill.”

Union representatives have echoed the urgency. David Van Leirsberghe of the CGSP union warned that the agency is stretched to its limits: “We can hold on for at most a few weeks before it goes in all directions.” Erkut Aydin of the SLFP union confirmed that while damage has been limited so far, the situation is “not sustainable.”

Government Response and Political Tensions

Audrey Henry has been advocating within the government for a targeted exemption to the hiring moratorium specifically for Bruxelles-Propreté’s operational roles. After meeting with unions on May 7, her cabinet stated that the objective was “to identify immediate solutions to ensure continuity of service with the replacement of people occupying these essential functions.”

The crisis highlights tensions between the government’s fiscal austerity measures and the practical needs of public service delivery. The HLN reported that the municipality of Forest has formally asked the Brussels government to make an exception to the hiring moratorium so that retiring workers can be replaced more quickly.

Broader Reform in the Works

Beyond the immediate staffing crisis, Henry has announced a broader reform of waste collection in Brussels. The plan includes shifting yellow bag (paper/cardboard) collection from weekly to bi-weekly, eliminating the second weekly white bag collection in communes where it still exists, and reinforcing organic waste collection in dense neighborhoods. The reform, expected to be implemented in 2027 or later, would allow the agency to operate with 65 fewer collectors who would be reassigned to other tasks.

What to Watch For

The coming weeks will be critical. Without an exemption to the hiring moratorium, the projected 250+ vacancies could lead to a progressive collapse of regular collection services across Brussels. The government’s decision will not only determine the immediate fate of waste collection in the capital but may also set a precedent for how other essential public services are treated under the region’s austerity policies. For now, residents in affected neighborhoods are left watching their uncollected waste pile up — a visible reminder of the human cost of fiscal discipline.