Het buurtserviceteam (English)

The neighbourhood services team

Wearing their recognisable orange outfits, they are a familiar sight on the streets of The Hague. With sweepers, grippers, brush cutters, binbags and other equipment, the neighbourhood services team roams the district keeping The Hague clean.

What does the neighbourhood services team do?

Each city district has its own neighbourhood services team. The teams sweep the streets, pick up litter and empty the litter bins. They also clean chewing gum off the street and remove weeds to prevent them attracting litter. The employees are all-rounders. Every day, they have different tasks and can work in all areas.

To ensure that everything goes smoothly, the neighbourhood services team supervisor manages the team. They decide the route and which employee will do what that day.

Early start

The teams set off early, starting work in places with a lot of litter, like shopping malls and playgrounds. So these places are clean before visitors arrive. They then get to work in the surrounding streets. These are checked and where necessary cleaned.A street is cleaned depending on the amount of litter in the street.

Working with the road sweeper

An important part of the work of the neighbourhood services team is using the road sweeper. The vacuum sweeper with 2 big rotating brushes at the front drives through the streets sweeping up dirt. The team members walk in a formation around the sweeper. With sweepers and blowers, the team members move around the truck making sure that no piece of litter is missed. The result: a lovely clean street!

Seasonal tasks

Besides their regular work, the neighbourhood services team has additional tasks depending on the season. The year is divided into four seasons, with each period providing extra work and challenges.

Report litter

Have you seen litter on the street? In a park or in the water? For example, litter, or any household or bulk waste that has been incorrectly disposed of? Report it to the municipality at denhaag.nl/meldingen or via the MyCleanCity app.

Arrange a free bulk waste collection

Did you know that you can contact the municipality to arrange a free collection for all your bulk and garden waste? Arrange it on denhaag.nl/grofvuil.

Request a free litter picker

Would you like to tidy up your neighbourhood and keep it clean? If so, request a free litter picker from the municipality via the link: https://www.denhaag.nl/schonebuurt. For each household, residents can request a maximum of 2 litter pickers. If you aren’t using your picker, you just return it. Another resident of The Hague can then use it to clear litter.

Working for the neighbourhood services team brought René on the right path

You bring past experiences with you. René is a good example of that. He overcame his battle with cancer and luck has not always been on his side. René is now doing well, and he enjoys being part of the neighbourhood services team. We talk to him about his extensive CV, how he looks in the mirror every day and what the future will bring him.

René was born and grew up in The Hague. From the first moment we speak to him, he radiates the down-to-earthness that The Hague is known for. He wears the shirt of the neighbourhood services team bearing the city of The Hague’s coat of arms with pride: ‘I always say that the logo is three dimensional. It’s on my sweater, the T-shirt underneath and the stork is tattooed on my chest.’

Battle with cancer

An important turning point in René’s life was his battle with cancer. In 2000, a malignant tumour was discovered in his groin. ‘They didn’t know whether I’d survive,’ René begins. A difficult two-year battle followed. ‘I had surgery, radiotherapy, chemo and injections. They gave me around 10 years, but I said to myself: I’m going to survive everything. That might have been a bit overconfident, but that’s now 22 years ago!’

Although René has had a full recovery, he still suffers the physical and mental consequences. ‘Luckily, I kept the leg, but I occasionally limp a bit due to the pain. Sometimes I find it hard, because I worry that it’ll come back one day.’ René continues: ‘Every day, I look in the mirror and give myself a thumbs up and am grateful. It may not always be fun, but I try to enjoy myself.’

An extensive CV

Eventually, the company went bankrupt, and I had many different types of jobs,’ René explains as he lists all the jobs he’s had. In catering, burning weeds in a cemetery and as a gardener. During that last job, he seemed to have discovered his passion, but sadly his contract was not renewed. ‘My boss at the landscaping company asked what he could do for me. I said: “you can do one thing, and that’s call the municipality to see whether they have a job for me.” It was soon arranged, and I came to work for the neighbourhood services team.’

Over 1.5 years later, he still loves this job. ‘In fact, I’d always wanted to work for the municipality. The Hague is my city, and I always hated the way people threw away their litter on the streets. In this job, I can help ensure a clean city.’

Rosy future

René is uncertain what the future holds for him. But he knows that he wants to continue developing: ‘I’m 53 and never too old to learn. I want to do courses and undertake things in the municipality. For me, this is a good step up, and the municipality also gives me the opportunity to grow.’ When he talks about his work with the neighbourhood services team, René’s optimism is clear: ‘This has been such a gift. I had a mountain to climb, but now I’m at the top. I can see lots of interesting opportunities and possibilities.’

Supervisor Michael and his team make The Hague clean

Every team needs a supervisor. In the neighbourhood services team at the De Werf depot, supervisor Michael and his colleagues keep Loosduinen clean. The supervisor approaches his task like the captain of a football team. He looks after his colleagues, often works hard alongside them and enjoys the work: ‘When you drive through a clean street at the end of the day, you realise why you do it.’

In The Hague via a detour

Michael lives in The Hague with his wife and children, but his roots are on the other side of the ocean, in Curacao. In the second half of the 20th century, many people left the Caribbean to find work in the Netherlands. As did Michael: ‘I was born in Curacao but when I was around 15 or 16, I came to the Netherlands. The situation in Curacao was not stable enough, so I went looking for better job opportunities.’ Before ending up in The Hague in the neighbourhood services team, Michael had various other jobs. ‘I was in construction for a while, and then spent a long time working in a factory.’

The supervisor comes across as calm, spontaneous and friendly, and he therefore wanted to work with other people. Although Michael enjoyed what he was doing, he started looking for another job. ‘I wanted freedom and was keen to work outdoors in a team. That was when I came across the position of employee in the neighbourhood services team. I could work outdoors every day, and I soon decided that this was the work I wanted to do.’

Starting work as supervisor

The neighbourhood services teams in The Hague sweep the streets, remove litter and empty the litter bins. In some places, they also remove chewing gum and weeds from the street. Five years ago, Michael started as a team member but was soon promoted to his current position. ‘I really loved the work. I often get positive reactions from passers-by and then you know you’re doing a good job. At one point, I was asked if I’d like to be a supervisor. I was a bit nervous, because I’d never done anything like that before. Eventually, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.’

As a supervisor, Michael is a real team captain. ‘I allocate the work to the team members and check where there’s a lot of litter and where needs extra attention. I coordinate what we do and where we need to work. As a supervisor, I try to make it clear that together we must ensure that the neighbourhood is clean and tidy. I want to motivate everyone to do their work well,’ Michael explains enthusiastically.

‘Just like a relationship’

When asked about his team, Michael smiles and makes a nice comparison. ‘It’s just like a relationship; every day you have ups and downs. The entire team is made up of adult men and everyone has their own ideas. Sometimes, you just don’t agree with each other.’

Fortunately, the atmosphere is generally good. The team members make jokes together and the supervisor always communicates well: ‘And it obviously depends on how someone wakes up that morning. Everyone has their own personal challenges that can affect their mood. We talk about them together, and things always work out.’