Citizen consultation on waste policy Zoetermeer

The municipality invited random Zoetermeerders aged 18 and older. This way we reach residents of different ages and from different neighborhoods. 17,000 residents will receive a personal invitation letter. They can use a personal code to register for the citizens' meeting. Among the applications, 170 people will be drawn by lot to participate in the citizens' council. We expect that a small portion will drop out due to illness, for example, and that 150 residents will participate.

The 2022 referendum involved a yes/no question on certain elements of waste policy. The question to this citizens' council is much broader. The question now is: What conditions should the waste policy meet? With this, we ask the citizens' council to consider: Convenience of collection; for both citizen and collection service, hygiene, costs, quality and method of waste separation, amount of residual waste collected per inhabitant and laws and regulations.

Citizens' Council meetings are not open to the public because the Citizens' Council needs all the space it needs to talk to each other about what advice it wants to give to the municipality.

Participants in the citizens' meeting will be determined by drawing lots. It is possible to sign up for the reserve list. This means that we will contact you if a participant drops out. You can sign up by sending an e-mail to : infoburgerberaad@zoetermeer.nl until March 11 at the latest. After March 11 it is no longer possible to sign up.

The Zoetermeer municipality hired the agency EMMA/Moventem to organize the meetings. The municipality is responsible for the citizens' meeting itself. The municipality takes care of the invitations and communication to residents.

Yes, it is expected. A citizens' meeting produces the best results when the same participants come together all the time. It takes time to understand the topic, get to know each other, and make opinions together. In case of unforeseen circumstances, it is possible to miss 1 of the 5 meetings.

Yes, the meetings are accessible to residents who are hard of hearing, visually impaired or require a wheelchair, for example.

Between April and June 2024, we will organize 5 meetings at an accessible location. These are 3 Saturdays from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm and 2 evenings from 5:45 pm to 9:30 pm. In the meantime, participants may be asked to prepare for the next meeting. These preparations do not take much time.

This is not necessary. Participants do not need to know anything about the topic beforehand to join the Citizens' Consultation. In fact, we are looking for residents' experiences and opinions.

We are drawing lots for 170 residents, but since a small portion always drop out, we expect 150 residents to actually participate in the citizens' council.

Aldermen, council members, officials and the mayor do not participate in civic deliberations.

Participation in the Citizens' Consultation does not cause any problems for the benefit.

The outcome of the Citizens' Consultation is an opinion used by the City Council to make decisions. The City Council has indicated that they are going to take the advice very seriously.

You can send an e-mail to infoburgerberaad@zoetermeer.nl We will be happy to assist you.

The 17,000 residents were randomly selected from the municipality's records. The citizens' council should be as good a reflection of Zoetermeer as possible. Both in terms of age, gender, neighborhood and level of education.