The Brussels commune of Ixelles has launched a fresh crackdown on street spitting, rolling out an eye-catching advertising campaign designed to remind residents that the habit is illegal and potentially costly.
Posters recently spotted across the neighbourhood feature a llama — an animal famously known for spitting — alongside a blunt message: “Respect, that’s free. But spitting on the street will cost you up to 500 euros.”
While the campaign’s tone is light-hearted, the message behind it is serious. As reported by Bruzz, spitting in public is prohibited across the Brussels-Capital Region and classified as “uncivil behaviour,” placing it in the same legal category as public urination and fly-tipping. Despite the ban, authorities say the practice remains widespread on the city’s streets.
Sociologist Walter Weyns of the University of Antwerp suggests the behaviour is particularly common among young men. Speaking to Bruzz, Weyns linked the habit partly to cultural influences and visibility in popular media.
“In recent years, spitting has been shown more frequently on television screens,” he said, pointing to footballers who spit on the pitch before or after matches. “That’s easy to imitate.”
Weyns also described spitting as a form of social signalling. “It’s a way of showing off,” he explained. “It expresses a kind of boldness, a territorial appropriation — an ‘I can do whatever I want here’ feeling.”
The origins of the ban date back more than a century, when public authorities formally outlawed spitting to combat the spread of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. Medical experts have long warned that viruses can be transmitted through secretions from the mouth and nose, which may remain on surfaces for several days.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Brussels authorities began enforcing the existing rules with renewed urgency, highlighting the public health risks involved.
Ixelles is not the first commune to turn to creative messaging. In 2021, the neighbouring commune of Jette launched a similar initiative, placing signs around the area reading, “You’re not a llama, don’t spit on the street!” in both French and Dutch. The approach proved memorable, if not universally popular.
According to Bruzz, the current llama campaign forms part of a broader effort to improve street cleanliness. It complements the ‘We See You’ campaign, launched jointly by Ixelles, Saint-Gilles and Forest, which targets fly-tipping, littering and dog fouling.
Enforcement is already under way. Geoffroy Kensier of Les Engagés, the councillor responsible for public cleanliness in Ixelles, confirmed that officers issued two fines for spitting during a recent operation in the commune.
With fines reaching up to €500, local authorities hope the combination of humour, visibility and enforcement will succeed where previous warnings have failed — persuading residents that respect for public space starts with small, everyday actions.