Key Facts
Antwerp is a city in Belgium. It is the capital of the Province of Antwerp. It is twinned under the EWIT project with the city of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire.
Antwerp will be hosting key stakeholders from Abidjan in the the second round of the Twin City Workshops in summer 2016. The objective of this workshop will be to contribute towards the development of a Master Plan for E-waste management in Abidjan
The EWIT project consortium includes the City of Antwerp which is responsible for waste collection, street cleansing and waste management for the city's half million inhabitants.
Located in the centre of Europe and home to about 514,432 inhabitants, Antwerp combines the welcoming feel of an idyllic town with the vitality and history of an international metropolis.
With its unique central location along the banks of the Scheldt river, Antwerp offers excellent connectivity to both the North Sea and the continental mainland. The city opens a gateway toward all major consumer centres, with no less than 60% of Europe’s total purchasing power within a 500 km radius.
Today, Antwerp is home to Belgium’s fastest-growing university, with various internationally renowned colleges, as well as dozens of business incubators, knowledge centres and competence centres. All of these cooperate closely with the rest of the Antwerp economy.
A pocket sized metropolis at the heart of Europe:
- * 6 million inhabitants living in Belgium surface of around 30.500 km²
- * Second largest city in Belgium
- * 516,009 inhabitants on 20,373 m²
- * 9 districts in 3 waste collections sectors
The city corporation consists out of 8 business units. These departments work in programme-related fields of expertise from libraries to street cleaning, city marketing and our own Police force.
Business unit City maintenance and waste management
Key objective: A clean and well-maintained public space is a fact by default to all inhabitants and visitors
- Waste collection: door to door collection, Underground container collection system
- Cleansing of public areas: litter, illegal dumping and graffiti
- Recycling: recycling centers
- Creating awareness through communication and enforcement
The following data regarding E-waste management were identified as part of the EWIT project. The data are derived from a range of sources. Due to the difficulty in obtaining quantified data, much of the tonnage data are based on imprecise estimates.
To compare the data for different cities against each other you can use the ‘compare’ function on the main Cities page
| Country | Belgium |
| City | Antwerp (Belgium) |
| Current Population of the city | 516,009 |
| In which year was the population data collected? | 2015 |
| Quantity of municipal solid waste generated annually? (t/yr) | approx. 208,000 t/yr |
| Quantity of E-Waste generated from households annually? (t/yr) | approx. 1,700 t/yr |
| Quantity of E-Waste collected from households annually? (t/yr) | 1,795 t |
| Year of the above data | 2015 |
| Collection Stations | 8 |
| Active landfills | 1 (Hoge Maey) |
| Active Dumps | 2 (temporary) |
| Closed landfills and closed dumps | - |
| Dismantling Facilities | 0 |
| Repair & Refurbish Facilities | 1 (Working Palace) |
| Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) | 7 (Kringwinkel) |
| Other facilities | |
| Does the national government have an agency mandated to enforce solid waste including E-Waste laws and regulations? | The federal public service: Health, food chain safety and environment |
| Does the city have a department dedicated to solid waste including E-Waste management? | yes |
| Does the city have a unit enforcing solid waste including E-Waste issues in the city? | No |
| Does the city have its own solid waste management including E-Waste rules? | in development |
| List of international partners and NGOs currently working with the city and briefly describe each project | - |
| Is there a national law governing solid waste including E-Waste management in the country? | Royal Decree of the 17th of March, 2013 for the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, these RoHS standards fall under the federal competence |
| Who is mandated to collect, transfer and dispose of E-Waste | Kringwinkel |
| Does the city have solid waste including E-Waste management rules and regulations? | - |
| Does the city have a solid waste including E-Waste master plan? | No |
| Provide a list of channels through which the city communicates with its residents on solid waste management issues (eg. website, newsletter, radio, social media, etc …). Also indicate how often each channel is used | Website, annual poster campaign, messages on waste management equipment, such as trucks and litter bins. |
| What are the key messages or information provided to the public ? (eg. education on littering, source separation or waste reduction etc.) | Key objective for marketing and communications: together, we provide a clean neighborhood and city with less waste |
| Provide a list of channels through which the city collects feedback from it residents on issues related to solid waste services. (eg. Annual surveys, dedicated telephone line, Mobile phone Applications, social media, etc …) | Amon (Antwerp Monitor) weekly survey to a changing population that respresents the city. An online panel, which can be used for ad hoc surveys |
| Provide a summary of key solid waste information made periodically available to the public (eg. Annual budget, waste collection coverage rates, recycling rate, etc..) | Open government principle |
| Does the city have a contract with one or more private firms for waste management? | Yes |
| Does the contract cover waste collection? | Yes |
| Does the contract cover waste transport | Yes |
| Does the contract cover waste disposal | Yes |
Antwerp has identified the following key priorities for the management of E-Waste:
- * Supporting the preparation of E-Waste for Re-Use;
- * Increasing household awareness on E-Waste consumption, waste minimization, recycling and disposal to encourage behaviour change and grow E-Waste collection volumes;
- * Increase awareness within the population on E-Waste issues; and
- * Ensuring sustainable E-waste services through review, monitoring, innovation and improvement.