Our story

Before 1960, Mr. Georges LOISEAU was the owner of a truck for emptying septic tanks, wells and tanks.

On 9 December 1960, he founded “La Vidange Loiseau sprl” together with 3 doctors and became its technical director.

In 1965 Mr. Defaweux bought the company that is still a family company to this day.

He came from an era when the profession came down to pumping all liquid waste (septic tanks, liquid waste and other sometimes dangerous liquids) and helping the client get rid of them.

The ’Professional National Federation of Cesspool Emptiers’, which was founded in 1970 and of which Mr. Defaweux was the Chairman, started contacting the political leaders to demand the possibility to pour out liquid waste and to obtain from the Minister for Small and Medium-sized Businesses a regulated access to the profession.

Of the more than 800 towns that were asked, less than 1% answered positively. Others made promises they did not keep.

Actions were organised behind the wheel of numerous trucks coming from all parts of the country (photos can be viewed by clicking on the links hereunder). The messages written on the trucks are more than clear.

Everything took place in an “by craftsmen”. Therefore, it is not surprising that the cesspool emptier had a reputation of being polluters!

The situation could not go on like this. In May 1977, the newspaper «Le Soir » wrote: The cesspool emptier, a forced delinquent, carrying on a penalised profession !

In those days, the waste producer did not take any responsibility from the moment the waste was in the collector’s truck. The cesspool emptier was thus liable whenever an offence was committed and communicated to the legislator.

Certain sentences are noteworthy :

Brussels Court of Appeal, 1977: “The defendant had no obligation to substitute himself to the individuals nor to take on their responsibility regarding the criminal dumping of liquid waste “

Brussels Court of Appeal, 1990 : “The offender does not have to substitute himself to the negligence of the public authorities. If needed, he must change his profession …”

No town taking care of her residents’ waste dumping has ever been punished whereas they often used the same places for their dumping than the private cesspool emptiers.

When her father died in 1984, Mrs. Defaweux took charge of what became a limited company in 1980. Her goals: regularise the profession, to be better known and gain recognition (approval in the 3 Regions: Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels Region), to work for the recognition of dumping places or the regulated treatment, gaining access to them and being able to guarantee that the collected products would indeed be treated without polluting.

In 1987, with the aim of maintaining the same quality and safety, the company had the 1st vacuum truck built for collecting waste which was in conformity with the very strict ADR norms. This achievement for this era was accomplished with the help of the IPSAM company in Essen (www.ipsam.com). Ever since, owning ADR vacuum trucks for transporting toxic or dangerous waste has become an obligation for obtaining regional approval.

Some SME have followed in professionalizing the profession. They were either followed or bought quickly by big financial groups who lie at the basics of multinational companies e.g. Sita (ex Watco), Shanks, Van Gansewinkel etc…

In the meanwhile, the environment legislation has expanded. It led to three times as much administrative steps for those wanting to work in the three regions.

La Vidange Loiseau n.v. has kept her independence in relation to the multinationals and is still purely a family company. Her small structure allows her to react quickly to all urgent demands. That is her strength, her reputation and it explains her existence for all these years.