Culture Min. decries fireworks ban

Minister Jet Bussemaker of Education, Culture and Science does not think that a fireworks ban is necessary in the Netherlands at this stage. She believes that the problems surrounding fireworks can be solved if everyone works together to do so.

"I would not want to ban it", the Minsiter said in the television program WNL on Sunday, NU reports. "You have to discuss it with each other and should not say from the top: we won't be doing it at all anymore."

Fireworks on New Year's was recently added to the Dutch Cultural Heritage inventory. Bussemaker acknowledged that this tradition has been receiving an increasing amount of criticism, but stated that all traditions need to change. She thinks that municipalities arranging their own large fireworks displays for New Year's is a "nice alternative". "Then you still have very nice rockets, stars and colors, without the danger."

The fireworks complaint hotline vuurwerkoverlast.nl opened this weekend. In 48 hours the site registered more than 15 thousand complaints.