In 2018, the Department of the Environment conducted a written environmental study that gauged the nuisance experienced by the Flemish people from noise, odor and light pollution. It was the fifth study in a series of identical surveys that have been conducted since 2001. The question in each survey is virtually identical, so that it is possible to compare the nuisance experienced with previous surveys and to detect any trends.
The survey shows that noise is the main source of nuisance: 29% of the Flemish people indicated that they feel annoyed by noise, 15% by smell and 7% by light. Although general satisfaction with the quality of life is increasing, it is striking that the noise nuisance experienced by street traffic is increasing for the first time after many years of decline. Compared to the first survey in 2001, fewer and fewer Flemish people experience odor nuisance from all kinds of activities. An important exception to this is the smoke from chimneys, which is experienced as a nuisance by more and more Flemish people. With regard to light pollution, the results show an increase in nuisance from the lighting of municipal and regional roads, while the lighting of motorways, on the other hand, is less and less reported as a source of light nuisance.