{ "title": "Nitrous oxide canisters, a barbecue and a lost wallet: what PwC employees found around their offices", "modified_at": "2026-10-13 07:00:02", "published_at": "2026-10-13 07:00:00", "url": "https://press.pwc.be/nitrous-oxide-canisters-a-barbecue-and-a-lost-wallet-what-pwc-employees-found-around-their-offices", "short_url": "http://prez.ly/aqie", "culture": "en_BE", "language": "EN", "subtitle": "175 volunteers collect 275 kilograms of litter across five Belgian cities. Cigarette butts prove to be the most persistent problem. ", "slug": "nitrous-oxide-canisters-a-barbecue-and-a-lost-wallet-what-pwc-employees-found-around-their-offices", "body": "

Brussels, 13 October 2026 – A dozen nitrous oxide canisters in Brussels, an illegally dumped barbecue in Hasselt and a wallet in the bushes in Antwerp were among the most striking finds during clean-up activities organised by PwC in September around its offices in Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, Hasselt and Liège. In total, 173 participants collected 275 kilograms of litter: 99 PwC employees and 76 people from neighbouring businesses.

The largest amounts of litter were found in Brussels and Ghent. Around the Brussels office, 57 participants collected 116.6 kilograms. In Ghent, 105.3 kilograms were cleared from around the Blue Towers and Planet Group Arena, the surrounding streets and the banks of the River Scheldt. Of the 65 participants there, 60 came from neighbouring businesses. According to the organisers, this site had the largest amount of general litter of all the locations.

In Hasselt, Antwerp and Liège, cigarette butts were the most common type of waste at each location. “Cigarette butts weigh almost nothing, so they barely register in the totals. Yet they are everywhere on the ground: in car parks, near entrances and along pavements,” says Griet Helsen, Partner at PwC, who took part in the clean-up at Corda Campus in Hasselt. “You walk past them every day without noticing, it is only when you pick them up one by one that you realise just how many there are.”

Nearly a third of the total weight collected was PMD waste (79.7 kilograms). Participants also collected 9.6 kilograms of glass. Other finds included a shoe, a hammer and an access badge. The badge was returned to reception at Corda Campus, while the wallet found in Antwerp was handed in to the local police.

The clean-up activities formed part of World Cleanup Month. Through this initiative, PwC kept the issue of litter in the spotlight throughout September following World Cleanup Day, with local activities around its offices. Last year, PwC organised its first clean-up around its Brussels headquarters. This year, it expanded the initiative to five cities and also invited neighbouring businesses to take part. Everyone could participate at their own pace: in Liège, colleagues cleaned up within a 500-metre radius of the office, often during a short break of between 15 and 30 minutes.

The activities form part of PwC Belgium’s Community programme. “We want to spend less time talking about societal impact and more time taking action. Through these activities, we encourage our people to actively contribute to projects that benefit society. As a business, we do not operate in a vacuum. We want to use our commitment and capabilities to help move society in the right direction for the future. And every step counts,” says Patrick Boone, Chairman of PwC Belgium.

For the clean-up activities, PwC partnered with River Cleanup, a non-profit organisation working towards plastic-free rivers. The partnership extends beyond these activities: PwC also supports the organisation with its data platform, which brings together information on river pollution. This enables River Cleanup to identify where action is needed and track results.

“Plastic-free rivers also start in the streets around our workplaces. By clearing litter from their local area, employees help prevent it from reaching the ocean through streams and rivers. An activity like this also highlights how much waste is present in our everyday surroundings. It is valuable that PwC continues this commitment beyond World Cleanup Day, through both clean-up activities and the sharing of expertise,” says Thomas de Groote, founder and CEO of River Cleanup.

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\n Tess Minnens\n External Communications Manager\n \n
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