Rotterdam has gained formal recognition for a unique cultural tradition involving poetry displayed on municipal waste collection trucks. Since the practice was first introduced during a poetry festival in 1988, lines of verse have been printed on the city’s bin lorries, merging public art with everyday urban life. This week, the custom was officially designated as intangible cultural heritage by a Dutch organization responsible for preserving national traditions.

Joan Nunnely, Rotterdam’s deputy mayor for culture, community, and language, described the initiative as a longstanding feature of the city. “Since 1988, poetry has been travelling through Rotterdam on our bin lorries,” she said. Nunnely noted that the verses often catch people’s attention during daily routines, such as commuting or waiting for a truck to pass, and have become an ingrained part of Rotterdam’s cultural identity.

The program aims to democratize access to poetry, making it available to all residents rather than confining it to academic or elite circles. “Sometimes people think about culture as something only for those with a theoretical education,” Nunnely explained. “This is one way to bring poetry to all Rotterdammers.”

Local waste collection workers also appreciate the project for forging a stronger connection to the city. Paul Keijzer, who has been driving Rotterdam’s litter trucks since the tradition began, said the poetry often provokes a range of public responses. “We get positive reactions that people have never seen anything like it,” he said. “But sometimes they say: I don’t understand that line!” One current verse, by poet Neeltje Maria Min, reads in Dutch: “Hoe langer ik terugkijk hoe Strakker de knoop in de tijd” (“The longer I look back the tighter the knot in time”).

The initiative was developed by Poetry International, led by director Diana Chin-A-Fat, in collaboration with the Rotterdam municipality. They jointly approached the Dutch Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage to safeguard the tradition. Chin-A-Fat emphasized the widespread recognition of the poetry on bin trucks, noting that “every Rotterdammer recognizes it” and that it has become a city hallmark.

Poet and spoken word artist Derek Otte, whose own work recently joined the fleet, highlighted how the tradition reflects Rotterdam’s distinctive identity. “You can switch Amsterdam for Leiden or Delft and they are all beautiful – but Rotterdam is something else,” he said. His verse, written in Dutch, states: “Van stenen gaat een stad de hoogte in De mensen geven diepte” (“Stones build a city high. The people give it depth”).

The Dutch Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage maintains an inventory of over 400 traditions, crafts, and customs unique to the Netherlands, ranging from the annual Pride Amsterdam festival to shepherded sheep flocks. Several Dutch practices are also listed by UNESCO, including traditional irrigation techniques and the craft of millers operating windmills and watermills. Rotterdam’s poetry-on-bin-lorries tradition now joins these as a recognized expression of Dutch cultural life.