Canal It Up

We aim for clean plastic-free waterways in Brussels where nature has its place

IS THERE A PROBLEM?

Yes. The canal and the river Senne in Brussels have to face a constant stream of garbage, a lack of nature and a bad water quality.

HOW DO WE WANT TO INTERVENE?

RAISING AWARENESS

Every week we organize kayaking trips on the canal for new volunteers to fish trash our of the water.

GREENING THE CANAL

We propose to give nature its place back in the canal to transform it into a green and pleasant environment for people and animals through the installation of vegetalised islands.

INSTALLING A TRASH BARRIER, PLINTHS ALONG THE CANAL AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE DEPOSIT SYSTEM

We are currently working on the installation of a permanent structure, to be placed close to the Molenbeek lock, to stop the trash and take it out of the water. We also advocate the introduction of a deposit on cans and plastic bottles and propose installing plinths that would prevent waste from ending up in the water.

IMPROVING WATER QUALITY

Tackling the problem of the sewage overflows would allow to drasically improve the water quality of the canal.

RECYCLING

We develop creative solutions to recycle the trash collected in the canal.

SIGN THE PETITION FOR THE FIRST SMOKE FREE PARK IN BRUSSELS

Retrieving data...

Sewage overflows are one of the main reasons why the water quality of Brussels waterways isn’t good. Several times per month when it rains polluted sewage water flows into the Senne and the canal. Here you can see a live overflow update and the number of overflows of last month.

NUMBER OF OVERFLOWS LAST MONTH

Sainctelette: October 2023

0
To the canal
0
To the Senne

SEWAGE DISCHARGE METER

Sainctelette:

Overflow events in February 2023

0
To the canal
0
To the Senne

Every month we count the number of days the Sainctelette and Maelbeek overflows are activated and publish the results here. These numbers are to be compared to the current Flemish standard according to which an overflow can only function 7 days per year. The overflows in Brussels exceed this annual amount almost every single month. Three overflows in particular are responsible for 75% of the discharged volume into the Senne and the canal. 

News & events

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You would rather not dive into the water but you still want to help us?

Plastic fishing in Brussels canal is just your thing?

Subscribe to our newsletter

to stay informed about our future actions and our progress towards clean and green waterways

You would rather not dive into the water but you still want to help us?