BRUSSELS

King Philippe of Belgium expressed concern over Brussels' growing trash problem during a visit to Schaerbeek on Tuesday, and called for a joint effort to tackle it.

The visit coincided with a day marked by strikes, illegal dumping, and abandoned household waste, which left the streets of the capital littered. The king's attention to the issue underscores the urgency of addressing Brussels' waste management challenges.

"The king has made it very clear that he is concerned," Jonathan De Jonck, co-founder of Bruxelles (Pou)belle, a citizen collective, told Bruzz, a Flemish-language news portal.

"He is not only the head of state, he also lives in Brussels and, like everyone else, is confronted with rubbish on the streets. He considers cleanliness a basic requirement for a respectful society, and we can only applaud that," he added.

During the visit, King Philippe took a short walk with local officials from the cleanliness department and participated in a roundtable discussion with citizens, professionals, and waste management activists, including members of Bruxelles (Pou)belle.

De Jonck stressed that the problem is not limited to Schaerbeek. "This is a Brussels issue, even a regional one. The king's message isn't: 'Schaarbeek needs to do a better job,' but rather: 'We need to tackle this together and structurally.'"

He said that daily observations highlight the urgency of the issue. "This morning I drove through Sint-Joost: half a household on the street. You see it everywhere. The problem is huge, visible, and urgently demands more ambition from policymakers," De Jonck added.

While it remains unclear whether the royal visit will lead to concrete measures, De Jonck hopes it will go beyond symbolism.

Surveys show Brussels residents frequently cite public cleanliness as a top concern, with nearly 14,000 complaints filed via the Fix My Street platform in the first half of 2025.