Troc & Brol - A Local Social Bulky Waste Management Platform
The City of Brussels as launched its very first local social bulky waste management platform : Troc & Brol. This project is located in the very heart of Brussels, more specifically in the Marolles a small highly heterogeneous residential neighborhood. It aims to collectively collect, sort and repair discarded items and have them freely available for the neighborhood. It also provides a tool to transform habits and reflect upon our mode of consumption, items lifespan and their disposability.
Local
Belgium
The City of Brussels
Mainly rural
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-11-23
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): City of Brussels Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Antoine Last name of representative: Godeaux Gender: Prefer not to say Nationality: Belgium Function: Project Coordinator Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 26 Rue des Capucins Town: Brussels Postal code: 1000 Country: Belgium Direct Tel:+32 490 67 48 47 E-mail:antoine.godeaux@brucity.be
The City of Brussels has launched its very first social bulky waste management platform : Troc&Brol (T&B). This project is located in the very heart of the EU capital, Brussels, and more specifically in the Marolles, an historical, authentic and residential district of roughly 25,000 souls. T&B is a collection, revaluation and distribution project for underused, broken and given up on items. A free soft mobility (handcarts or cargo bikes) home collection service is offered to Marolles residents. Objects collected that are still in good conditions are re-furbished and proposed on site in the T&B free shop. This shop is only accessible to district residents.
Damaged items are restored or sent to other circular economy actors. Things in too bad conditions are sent to the container park.
Bulky waste disposal is a problem that frequently comes up during meetings with Marolles residents. There is also an abnormally large amount of these wastes illegally dumped on the sidewalks, and in the streets of the neighborhood. The problem’s roots are :
• Long distances to Regional container parks (>10 km).
• Residents’ low access to motorized vehicles for bulk waste transportation
• High density and low surface housing
This project is also a response to City Public Cleanliness Administration current challenges:
• Reducing illegal waste dumping by turning them into resources
• Raising residents awareness around sustainable consumption
• Reducing City workers workload
From its conception, T&B is a combination of the needs and desires of the highly heterogeneous Marolles residents and will of the City’s public services.
In addition to its main waste-related activity, T&B is a place for social cohesion, where local residents can come and have a free hot drink, take a break, gather and socialize or even sign up for workshops related to circular economy such as repair cafés. It is a place to raise awareness on waste-related issues and circular economy at local scale.
Circular Economy
Revaluation
Social Cohesion
Local Proximity
New Public Tool
With this social bulky waste management platform, the City of Brussels wants to take part and support a already existing local strong sustainability dynamic and make sure all residents are included. Indeed, thanks to this circular and social project, which takes into account the local specificity of the neighborhood in which it is located, the municipality is positioning itself as a local agent for global change.
The basis of the project is directly linked to sustainable development: giving a second life to unused objects in order to prevent them from being thrown away. We also hope to build up a free loan library for low use items.
Troc & Brol (T&B) also raises awareness about responsible consumption by exposing unused items accumulated within homes and offering them second-hand free of charge. This gives citizens an alternative to the consumption of new goods, which are not always manufactured in an environmentally or worker-friendly way.
The key social aspect of T&B also is part of a sustainable dynamic. The premises are a convivial space to exchange ideas and bond with other people. Developing social cohesion in the neighborhood contributes to the creation of a sustainable community. The participation of Brussels volunteers and the collaboration with local actors also makes the project more resilient.
Furthermore, the free collection service as well as the free items in the shop contribute to fighting poverty. Particular attention is also given to reducing inequalities by ensuring that the service is accessible to all, especially for the elderly, isolated or disadvantaged people.
T&B is also a place for exchanging knowledge and raising awareness about reuse, recycling and circular economy. There is therefore an educational and learning dimension to the project.
Finally, T&B makes it a point of honor to use soft mobility as a priority (handcarts or cargo bikes), which also contributes to the sustainability of the project.
The Troc & Brol (T&B) project has been designed to fit within the neighborhood in which it exists and the premise has been chosen to best suit its activities. The building, located in the center of the Marolles, allows all the inhabitants of the area to be reached quickly (and vice versa) by foot. The particular architecture of the building (ground level, grid of walls, side alcoves, etc.) is also suitable for storing and sorting objects.
This historic site used to house a former brewery whose activity was emblematic of the City of Brussels and the district. In order not to distort it, we chose to keep the place raw (visible bricks, concrete floor, etc.). This also invites conversation and movement in the space and allows the public to feel at ease, without worrying about damaging anything.
The user experience has always been at the heart of the project. First of all, an interior design office was hired to think about an intuitive circulation for people and objects. A particular attention has also been given to making the space flexible and modular, so that it could be adapted to its multiple functions and to the specific needs of the neighborhood and its residents.
The design office also took care of the creation of the furniture: everything was made with recycled materials and old furniture. This approach is in line with the objectives and values of the project.
Finally, the graphic identity of the project was designed to be as inclusive as possible. For example, the choice of the name, Troc & Brol, is the result of participatory workshops with the neighborhood residents. The use of bright colors and hand-drawn illustrations also makes the project accessible and understandable to all and brings a warmth that puts visitors at ease. All these elements allow the diversity of the public in the Marolles district to be included and make it possible for the population to easily understand and seize the space and services that are offered.
The Troc & Brol recycling center was set up by field workers who know the residents and their habits. In addition to this, several discussions and participatory workshops took place throughout the project construction. The diversity of the public was therefore taken into account in order to respond as well as possible to the different needs.
From an economic point of view, the fact that the service is completely free of charge means that no inhabitant is excluded on the basis of their financial situation. Both the home collection and the shop operate without any exchange of money.
Our central location in the heart of the neighborhood means that all residents can be reached on foot in less than 15 minutes. Conversely, they too can easily reach the shop. During the collections, we go to people's homes, which allows us to include people who are isolated, elderly or without means of transport.
The collection is also unrestricted: we take all items that people want to dispose of, regardless of their condition (only chemical, construction or household waste is not collected). The sorting is done later in the shop. This is an important added value of our service that simplifies the process for citizens.
The proximity in the neighborhood, transparency and trust of the residents are the keys to the accessibility of the service. Our local presence also allows us to adapt our operations to the needs of our users.
First of all, the project was born out of the residents' concerns about the neighborhood's cleanliness and their difficulties to get rid of bulky items. Thanks to our presence on the field, exchanges with the citizens and a more in-depth analysis of the problem, the needs could be established. The feedback and involvement of the residents at this stage was therefore essential for the development of the project.
For information, a number of one-time collections alongside a free shop were organized for the residents before the project was launched. It allowed to measure interest for the service and evaluated our approach. The success of the project and the positive feedback from the residents have made it possible to support the project and ensure a constant collection service via Troc & Brol.
In addition to the residents, other actors were consulted in order to build a coherent project: organizations active in the neighborhood, shopkeepers as well as various municipal and regional services.
Volunteers are also involved. These are citizens of the neighborhood who have expressed their desire to participate in one way or another in the project (working in the free shop, doing small repairs, sorting objects, etc.). These people also help to keep the project alive and make it known.
Finally, several synergies and collaborations already exist between Troc & Brol and local actors (exchange of information, organization of activities, use of the premise, etc.). The associative network, close to the field, is a fundamental intermediary. It is therefore the citizens, the neighborhood actors and public service whom are involved in the project.
We have taken great care to establish a real ecosystem around Troc&Brol (T&B) in which the social, environmental and technical components are represented.
Citizens are involved in the project through their use of our services, their commitment as volunteers or their opinions and feedback on the project.
Civil society has also been solicited. Various meetings and collaborations took place with the district organizations, encouraging the exchange of information and allowing a better knowledge of the field and existing problems. As a result, synergies were created, allowing the project to be strengthened and fully integrated into the neighborhood. For example we work directly with social workers in social housing for urgent or problematic cases.
Other exchanges occurred with actors outside the Marolles: visits of similar projects in other cities, exchanges with public or private expert bodies specialized in circular economy, etc. This allowed us to discover different ways of management, which could feed our reflections in order to establish a resilient and relevant project.
The City of Brussels services are also indirectly involved either by deploying workers on the field or making itself available for logistics and expertise questions. The City supports the project to the best of its possibility beyond the allowed strict budget. We took the liberty of including them in "external engagement" as they are not strictly speaking part of T&B.
Another important commitment to the project is political. Indeed, T&B was able to get the support of the alderman of Green Spaces, Public Cleaning and Animal Welfare as well as the entire College of the City of Brussels. Thanks to this support, the project was able to become a reality.
Finally, the participation of various actors at the regional level also helped the development of the project. Various meetings and exchange groups with similar projects were organized, allowing for valuable sharing of experiences.
Troc & Brol (T&B) was conceived through collaboration of a variety of actors, all with different areas of expertise. The plurality of knowledge pooled has allowed the creation of a project that responds as adequately as possible to the needs of the residents collected during our investigations or foreseen through experts and workers of specific fields.
One of the strengths of T&B is the multidisciplinary team that manages the project. It is made up of individuals with different backgrounds and experiences (communication, engineering, event planning, biology, social work,...). All guided by a common sensitivity for the values embodied by the project, the team is in continuous dialogue, which allows the project to benefit from different expertise and points of view.
At the level of the City of Brussels, we can note the collaboration with the various departments, each one being an expert in a specific field (cleanliness, law, logistics, etc.). One of the strengths of the municipality is the availability of these departments. Even though or requests may have seemed odd at first, numerous exchanges with municipal field actors, such as the team of street cleaners in the Marolles, have also been valuable resources. This is often overlooked within administration projects.
Synergies with the Civil Society in the Marolles are also important in terms of involving different levels of knowledge. Indeed, these neighborhood actors have practical knowledge of the field and of their respective audiences. They can thus help us to better target the needs of the residents, establish better contact with them, facilitate their involvement and promote our project.
For this section, one must acknowledge that Troc & Brol (T&B) was launched on the 1/12/22, with one week of interruption for winter break. It is therefore premature to say exactly what overall impact T&B has or will have. However, we are pleased to witness the growing interest and genuine cheering that we encounter throughout the neighborhood already which has already been relayed in the press (see uploaded press article).
To provide a few figures, since launch, 27 people have taken appointments for home collections. With an average of 2m³ per request, that is 44m³ collected. 52 (sets of) items re-furbished and proposed in the free shop were taken away by residents. We also have seen a great deal of interest from residents who want to participate in one way or another in the project: 29 people have already signed up to become volunteers. In terms of attendance, there is an average of 3.5 customers per opening hour of which 68 percents are Marolles residents, the rest being curious people from outside the neighborhood. We can therefore say that we are reaching 2.4 residents per hour of opening, which is positive given the scale, newness and novelty of the project. Attendance and free sales have already grown from December to January.
Plus, social and human aspects of T&B, which are essential, are not easily measured. We have observed an ever-increasing interest from the residents and local actors. We also have almost gotten exclusively positive feedback from the residents and synergies or opportunity for synergies are numerous. The ease with which the neighborhood and all its actors are resonating with T&B is a significant sign of the accuracy of its aim and of the formulation of this social bulky waste management project. To the people involved, the mere existence of this project in its adaptive form is a success in itself. As a local service
A special feature of the project is that the service is completely free, the idea being that once the project is fully adopted by the residents, the current cost of bulky items management in the area will be offset by the services offered by Troc & Brol (T&B).
As T&B operates on a neighborhood scale within a clearly defined area, it easily can become a unique local point of reference. These local and proximity aspects are great strengths of the project. T&B easily responds to residents needs in a direct, specific and timely manner.
Similar projects exist in other cities, but they very often require residents to take objects down in the street or to drop them off on site. This excludes most people in precarious situations, who are socially isolated or have reduced mobility. In our case, we make the effort to go right into their homes which is also often an opportunity to work on social cohesion with our partners.
The choice to favor soft mobility as much as possible using mainly handcarts is quite innovative. Not only does it allow for affordable, practical - single person can easily carry up to 250kg - green collection, it eases street interactions but it also fully integrates us to the Marolles landscape. The carts are an historical tool of this “chiffonier” (junkman, scrap dealer,…) district. A Symbol solely kept alive today by the old daily flea market and its merchants.
Finally, we also give great importance to providing the time and attention needed to maximize the potential of our services. This social aspect is key to up bringing of new habits around consumption and waste disposal. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, second-hand goods are often not accessible to all, especially the most vulnerable. The inclusiveness and the approach that we developed allows us to reach and empower this part of the population as well. It’s not only about easy hand-outs and clean consciousness, it is about coming together as a neighborhood and tackling a global issue.
The Troc & Brol project was created as part of the Marolles Sustainable District Contract. A district contract is a time-bound action plan to improve the quality of life of residents in weakened neighborhoods. Before starting the operational phase of this action plan (organisation of various activities), a study and a survey of the residents of the neighborhood were carried out in order to identify the needs and establish a program for action. One of the problems that quickly emerged from this study was the presence of numerous illegal bulky waste dumps in the neighborhood. It was therefore proposed to find a solution to this problem. A team was hired by the City of Brussels' Cleaning Service to test and implement various solutions (as well as other actions related to public cleanliness).
The daily presence of two people in the neighborhood, the building of a network of various actors around the project, the frequent citizen consultation and the support of the City of Brussels have allowed a multidisciplinary and innovative approach to the development of the project.
Finally, there is also a participatory dimension to the project. In addition to the exchanges and meetings with the residents of the Marolles, the citizens were also asked to tweak and optimise proposed services and work on their identity. For this purpose, we worked with an office specialised in participation and collective intelligence.
We believe that Troc & Brol (T&B) has transferrability potential. The principles and methods used for the design and implementation of the project are adaptable to different situations. Indeed, the public consultation, problem analysis on the field, neighborhood actors consultation or synergistic set ups are different methods that can be reproduced and adapted in many different contexts.
The interest of this type of project resides in multiplication of experimentation. A local project in one district of a capital city is not enough to meet the needs of the population. However, if each district, each neighborhood and "sub-neighborhood" of a city develops this type of project, in line with the local realities and constraints, it could create an interesting network and increase the impact of such projects (possible synergies, collaborations, etc.).
T&B's values which we tried to have deeply embedded within T&B from the get-go can also guide development of other projects ; paying particular attention to service accessibility, fully integrating the local social dimensions, allowing space to collective intelligence and maximizing proximity, circularity, and synergies with already existing structures.
We are convinced that T&B is a project that can inspire other initiatives and serve as a model for other recycling centers that want to better integrate local social dimensions. We just think that for a project to work and be as relevant as possible, it must respond to the reality of the area in which it aims to thrive. And for that, the meeting of local actors and public services as well as the participation of citizens is essential.
Finally, we transparently communicate about T&B and are readily in contact with other interested cities and towns with the aim of sharing and initiating other similar projects.
According to a World Bank report in 2018 (https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/09/20/global-waste-to-grow-by-70-percent-by-2050-unless-urgent-action-is-taken-world-bank-report) , the annual production of waste in the world is 2 billion tons. If we continue like this, we will reach 3.5 billion tons in 2050.
Faced with this situation, local waste management is one of the key to finding adequate solutions. This approach makes it possible to raise awareness among the population, to have platform for local exchange and sharing of low use items, to develop a project adapted to the constraints of a town or district and above all to reduce the waste or resources that end up on the street or in waste disposal centers.
Our project is local and allows us to change habits and mentality on a small scale. The multiplication of such project and the synergies between all the circular economy initiatives would also make it possible to have a more global and intensify their impact.
Secondly, by offering goods to Marolles residents free of charge, Troc & Brol (T&B) allows people with financial difficulties to have access to a series of objects, some of which are essential (mattresses, crockery, beds, chairs, etc.). In its own way, T&B is therefore helping to combat poverty.
In addition to offering second-hand goods, T&B allows citizens to start thinking more globally about their consumption habits, the life span of objects and their potential. T&B is therefore an awareness-raising tool for the public it targets, but also for anyone interested in learning more about the project's functioning and values.
The social dimension of the project, with the creation of links and the improvement of social cohesion in the neighborhood, is also a local way of responding to global concerns. Indeed, by putting people at the center and encouraging exchanges and encounters, T&B also contributes to the creation of a more resilient and sustainable community.
