[Nicky91]

Amsterdam council will discuss a proposal to ban amateur New Year fireworks in the city in its next board meeting in November.

The many fireworks set off on the streets of the Dutch capital by partying people cause unnecessary injury, damage and weeks of cleaning up, according to an organisation representing people who live in the historic canal district.

The Comité Westelijke Grachtengordel has asked Amsterdam’s leaders to ban amateur fireworks in the coming December and January.Jan van der Pas, secretary of the committee, told DutchNews.nl that the current situation is ‘crazy’.

‘We want to stop fireworks in the centre,’ he said. ‘The most important reason is safety for people, those setting off fireworks and people around them.

In five minutes, people can have injuries to their faces, eyes, fingers that last the rest of their lives, and it is very dangerous for dogs, animals and children.‘Damage costs insurance companies a lot of money, and hospitals are busy with the wrong things. Another big issue is the fact that we are busy cleaning up for a month something done in an hour.’

Mr Van der Pas, a yacht designer who lives on the Singel in the Unesco-recognised canal belt, said that his own location is littered for weeks after the big bash – and while well-behaved tourists are welcome, amateur fireworks are not.

In a letter to the council executive, the Comité Westelijke Grachtengordel, also cites concerns about damage to people’s hearing, noise-related stress for older people, animals and children, and air pollution.

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/1...ear-fireworks/