In Holland, those who remove concrete and tiles to create greenery get paid

Citizens remove concrete and tiles, plant trees, and create green spaces, and the municipalities reward them with a cash bonus. The project has a simple and clear name: it's called Tegelwippen, which literally translated means “tile sweeper”. In the Netherlands Over 200 municipalities have been involved in this sort of national competition to convince citizens to replace the concrete tiles in their gardens, but also in condominium spaces, with trees, prati, plants, flowers, and green spaces. The result: over 6 million tiles have been removed so far (460 have been replaced in the city of Arnhem alone), and a real competition has broken out among Dutch municipalities, starting with Rotterdam and Amsterdam, under the shared goal of "tile sweeping."

The expected bonuses are:

• 5–10 euros for each square meter of flooring removed (sometimes more or less)
• up to a maximum of 1.000 euros.

In several cases the municipality offers:

• free tile collection
• disposal of material
• delivery of plants or soil

• discounts or contributions for green roofs
• bonus to reduce the risk of flooding
• programs against urban “heat islands”.

The project's primary goal is to significantly reduce the effects of the climate crisis, following the guidelines of depaving interventions . Impervious surfaces, such as concrete tiles, create a problem by impeding the flow of rainwater. Given the increased intensity of rainfall, partly due to the climate crisis, removing the tiles and concrete helps relieve the pressure on drainage systems, which are increasingly stressed by heavy rainfall.

In exchange for the citizens' willingness to replace the tiles, the municipal administrations, according to the project Tegelwippen, guaranteedThey transport and dispose of materials and provide plants and flowers free of charge. 

Tegelwippen has been so successful (including in terms of citizen acceptance) that since 2025 it has become a definitive and stable urban planning model, adopted by many Dutch municipalities. The following are planned:

• local financial contributions for pavement removal
• maximum several thousand euros for larger interventions
• reimbursements or co-financing for:
  • tile removal
  • replacement with green
  • trees, hedges, permeable gardens.

The images are taken from the NK Tegelwippen Facebook page