Citizen consultation on waste policy Zoetermeer
In 2024, the municipality organized a citizens' consultation on waste policy in Zoetermeer. 15 recommendations were adopted and presented to the board of mayor and aldermen and the city council.
The adopted recommendations include investing in easier separation of PBD (Plastic, Cans, and Beverage Cartons) waste, as well as investing in the separation of vegetable, garden and fruit (VGF) waste through, for example, education and surveys. Several recommendations were also about better communication about waste separation. For example, by reissuing the waste calendar and using pictograms on mini-containers and underground containers. In this way, even people who are low-literate or speak a different language can easily see in which container their garbage should go. Furthermore, the free home collection of bulky waste should remain.
View the advisory report with the 15 recommendations here.
Of all the opinions submitted, 5 opinions were not adopted because they did not achieve the necessary 2/3rds majority.
What does the follow-up look like?
The city 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 incorporate the recommendations of the citizens' council in a new waste policy plan and that the council will decide in 2025 which recommendations will be adopted. Where possible, all recommendations will be accompanied by a financial calculation. Thus the costs per recommendation will be made clear.
Monitor 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' meeting?
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. The mini-documentary below shows 3 stories of 3 different residents telling what is going well and what could be better as far as they are concerned. This video was shared with 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 Citizens' Consultation meetings began. Below are 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 were on the civic council?
17,000 Zoetermeer residents received a personal letter in mid-February 2024 asking if they wanted to participate in the citizens' council. From all the applications, 170 participants were drawn by lottery. About 150 participants were expected to remain.
It is important that the citizens' council include about as many men as women and that residents from all neighborhoods participate, from both high-rise and low-rise homes and from diverse backgrounds.
How does it proceed?
A total of 5 meetings were held between early April and late June. The citizens' council made its own choice of which experts to invite and then, divided into smaller groups, devised the terms of new waste policy. During the final meeting, the citizens' council voted on all recommendations. This ultimately led to a jointly supported, weighty recommendation, which will be submitted to the college and city council.
Citizens' Council members received compensation for their participation. Childcare was provided where needed and consideration was given to, for example, non-native speakers, those with low literacy skills, or participants with disabilities.
Planning
The civic consultation took place from the beginning of April to the end of June 2024. During this period, there were 5 meetings.
Contact
Do you have a question and your question is not among the frequently asked questions below? If so, please email infoburgerberaad@zoetermeer.nl.
Frequently Asked Questions
View a list of answers to the most frequently asked questions here.
Citizen's council on waste policy in the media
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