Citizen consultation on waste policy Zoetermeer
In 2024, the municipality organised a citizens' council on waste policy in Zoetermeer. 15 recommendations were adopted and handed over to the board of mayor and aldermen and the municipal council.
The adopted advices include investing in easier separation of PBD (Plastic, Cans and Beverage Cartons) waste, but also investing in the separation of GFT (Vegetable, Garden and Fruit) waste through, for example, information and research. Several advices also concerned better communication about waste separation. For example, by re-issuing the waste calendar and using pictograms on mini-containers and underground containers. In this way, people who are low-literate or speak a different language can easily see which container their waste belongs in. Furthermore, the free collection of bulky waste from homes must continue.
View the advisory report with the 15 recommendations here.
Of all the submitted advice, 5 advices were not adopted because they did not obtain the required 2/3 majority.
What does the sequel look like?
The municipal council has decided that the advice will be incorporated into the new waste policy plan and that decision-making on this plan and the advice will follow in 2025. This means that the municipality of Zoetermeer will include the advice of the citizens' council in a new waste policy plan and that the council will decide in 2025 which advice will be adopted. A financial calculation will be included with all advice where possible. The costs will therefore be made clear for each advice.
Monitoring Group
A monitoring group has been formed from the citizens' council. This monitoring group consists of about 30 people from the citizens' council. They monitor what the municipality will do with the decisions and how this process goes. They will do this until the new waste policy is adopted in 2025.
What is a citizens' council?
Zoetermeer's citizen council consisted of 150 residents from different backgrounds, different neighborhoods and different living situations. They advised the municipality on the waste policy of our city. This includes how often waste is collected, the costs and ways of separating waste. This advice is a weighty opinion. This means that the city council takes the advice seriously. Are the opinions in order according to the law? And does the city council see no other major problems? If so, the city council adopts the advice.
Mini reportage citizen council on the waste policy
Everyone has their own story when it comes to waste separation and waste collection. In the mini-documentary below you will see 3 stories of 3 different residents who tell what is going well and what could be improved in their opinion. This video was shared with the participants during the fourth meeting of the citizens' council to show that everyone has their own story. Watch the video below.
Meetings
On April 4, 2024, the meetings of the citizens' council started. Below you will find the videos of the 5 meetings.
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Why a citizen council on waste policy?
The municipality believes it is important that the voice of Zoetermeerders is reflected in the plans we make. For example, on a topic such as waste policy where it is sometimes difficult to make a joint choice. This is why we want to hear the opinions and ideas of different Zoetermeerders .
Everyone has waste and thus has experience in this area. Everyone also has an opinion on how waste is collected. In 2022, a referendum was held in Zoetermeer on the Waste Policy Plan. The result of the referendum indicated that there was no majority for this plan. Now we ask the citizens' council to indicate which conditions the waste policy should meet. These conditions include: ease of collection for both citizens and the collection service, hygiene, costs, quality and method of waste separation, amount of residual waste collected per inhabitant and legislation and regulations.
Who was in the citizens' council?
17,000 residents of Zoetermeer received a personal letter in mid-February 2024 asking whether they wanted to participate in the citizens' council. From all registrations, 170 participants were selected by lottery. The expectation was that approximately 150 participants would remain.
It is important that the citizens' council consists of approximately equal numbers of men and women and that residents from all neighbourhoods participate, from both high-rise and low-rise homes and from different backgrounds.
How does it work further?
In total, 5 meetings were held between the beginning of April and the end of June. The citizens' council chose which experts they wanted to invite and then, divided into smaller groups, devised the conditions for new waste policy. During the last meeting, the citizens' council voted on all advice. This ultimately led to a jointly supported, weighty advice, which is submitted to the board and the municipal council.
The members of the citizens' council received compensation for their participation. Childcare was provided where necessary and consideration was given to, for example, non-native speakers, low-literates, or participants with disabilities.
Planning
The citizens' council took place from the beginning of April to the end of June 2024. There were 5 meetings during this period.
Contact
Do you have a question that is not listed in the frequently asked questions below? Please send an email to infoburgerberaad@zoetermeer.nl .
Frequently Asked Questions
Click here for an overview of answers to the most frequently asked questions.
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