Belgian beaches littered with trash after tropical summer day

Belgian beaches were littered with food waste, cans, bottles and parasols on Tuesday after hot weather drew huge crowds to the coast.

The non-profit organisation Proper Strandlopers (Clean Beachgoers), whose volunteers clean up rubbish from Ostend beach, collected 4,000 litres of rubbish on Monday evening, with similar scenes in Blankenberge.

“We do all we can to keep our beach clean but there is a lack of respect for our nature. We put extra bins, we deploy extra people to clean up and still beachgoers leave their rubbish behind. That makes me angry," says deputy mayor of Ostend Kurt Claeys.

Last weekend, too, coastal towns had to deal with a lot of waste, as it was the busiest weekend of the year. All hotels were as good as full and 360,000 day tourists made their way to the sea.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Trash next to an overflowing bin on the beach at Blankenberge © BELGA PHOTO / VIDEO MAAIKE TIJSSENS}

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