AWARE TOGETHER: GILZE AND RIJEN ON COURSE!

Together with residents, companies, schools and numerous associations, we, as the municipality of Gilze en Rijen, are going to work to achieve gains in various areas in the areas of climate, energy and the circular economy. The Sustainable Gilze en Rijen course document is the compass for this.

We see sustainability as the common thread in our municipal policy. Of course, we believe all Global Goals are important in Gilze and Rijen. However, we want to focus. We'd rather do a few things well than do many things half-way. In addition, the capacity and resources of the municipality are limited. That is why in this course document we emphasise the Global Goals associated with the themes of Energy, Circular Economy, Climate & Biodiversity.

Some examples to demonstrate that we are on track:

• We are open to new technology. For example, together with the municipality of Dongen and the Brabant Delta water board, we investigated the feasibility of an initiative to turn sewage sludge into green gas that can be added directly to the natural gas network.
• The Nature and Landscape Association Gilze en Rijen came up with a plan to turn the Gilzewouwerbeek, now just a straight ditch, into a true Wouwer valley. This promotes climate conditions; we retain water in the area and thus restore many natural values. This ensures more biodiversity. The water board, the municipality of Breda and the province of Noord-Brabant are now also involved. A cooperation agreement was achieved in early 2020.
• On the 9th of October, we organised a Kids Climate Festival for children that were finalizing primary school, along with the municipality of Alphen-Chaam and the municipality of Baarle-Nassau. The afternoon was packed with fun challenges and activities; coming up with the coolest idea together to save the climate.
• For the sewage sludge technique initiative: this concerns the AHPD technique, in which the sewage water is heated and pressurised in a closed vessel, with which green gas is produced. The agency that provides this technique is Bareau, contact person Mr. Kirsten Zagt.

For more information on the development of the Wouwer valley, you can consult the NLRG website: www.natuurlijkgilzerijen.nl 

We posted a message with photos about the Kids Climate Festival on our Facebook page.