Zoetermeer on the road to new waste policy
On Monday, September 30, the recommendations of the citizens' consultation on Zoetermeer's new waste policy to be formed were discussed during the committee meeting of the City Council. This gave the go-ahead for the municipality to develop the new waste policy plan.
About the citizens' meeting
In February 2024, 17,000 Zoetermeer residents received an invitation to participate in the citizens' council. From these, a representative group of 170 residents was drawn to actually participate. The composition of the group took into account a good distribution in age, gender, education, neighborhood and living situation.
The citizens' council, which was guided by agency EMMA, met 5 times between April and June this year and was informed by different, self-selected experts. At the last meeting, the opinions were voted on. With two-thirds majority votes, 15 opinions were adopted. 5 opinions were rejected. The weighty opinions were compiled and presented in a report to the college and city council.
Opinions
The citizens' council comes with a clear message: as citizens, we have to do it ourselves, but the municipality has to facilitate us. The main recommendations focus on better communication about waste separation, increasing service and improved waste collection facilities.
Alderman Blansjaar (participation) is satisfied with the course of the citizens' council: "I am extremely proud of how the citizens' council went and am positively surprised by the group's great involvement, commitment and knowledge gained. As a result of this citizens' council, Zoetermeer has gained a number of waste ambassadors!"
Monitor group oversees progress
A small monitoring group of participants was formed after the summer. They keep an eye on how the advice is applied. On Sept. 23 and 30, council members could ask questions to the monitoring group about the advices and to supervising agency EMMA and alderman Blansjaar about the process. On Oct. 14, the city council will formally make a decision on the citizen council's recommendations.
New waste policy plan in 2025
The Zoetermeer municipality will use the recommendations of the citizens' council to develop a new waste policy plan, which is expected to be presented to the municipal council in the second quarter of 2025. More information about the citizens' council can be found on the Zoetermeer municipality's website: www.zoetermeer.nl/burgerberaad.
