Disrespectfully dealing with garbage: Cologne fights against the flood of waste!

Disrespectfully dealing with garbage: Cologne fights against the flood of waste!

In Cologne, the mood in dealing with waste is always reported, as Cordula Beckmann, spokeswoman for the Köln waste management company (AWB). Despite the more than 23,400 wastebasket in the city, the amount of garbage increases almost annually. Pandemic has not only improved respect in dealing with garbage, but rather even worsened. Among other things, this expresses that more and more people are simply on the streets, even though disposal offers free service. The city then identified specific garbage hotspots that can be found in every district.

A not insignificant trend that leads to this increase is the “Mediterranization” of the city. More and more people are using places and green areas to recover, which also generates more garbage. In this context, the AWB found that there is no quarter (fortunately) that is particularly clean or dirty. Rather, the hotspots remain evenly distributed, which does not necessarily make the challenge for city cleaning easier.

cleanliness actions add

At the same time, the participation in the "Kölle Putzmunter" cleanliness campaign has increased visibly. Last year, 28,000 reports about garbage were registered, which means 4,000 more than in the previous year. Participating groups and individuals can actively contribute to the campaign using a registration form. The AWB gives washable, reusable gloves and garbage bags and takes over the collection of the collected waste at the agreed location. This initiative is not only supported by the AWB, but also by various partners in Cologne. Particularly interesting: The Cologne Express is accompanied by some of the actions and thus provides further attention.

Not all attempts to reduce waste run smoothly. In many cases, “Gemen Gleen” boxes that are set up in the districts end with remaining objects that are viewed as illegal garbage. This has led to an increase in reports on illegal garbage deposits, which is a big problem for the everyday design of Cologne.

waste avoidance as a social goal

on a wider level also happens something in terms of waste avoidance. The Federal Environment Agency relies on the promotion of the circular economy to protect natural resources and protect the environment. The Federal Government has set itself the ambitious goal of halving the waste of food per capita by 2030. Various measures to avoid waste are currently being researched and implemented. This also includes the European Week of Waste Avoidance, which is carried out annually in November and serves as a platform for numerous actions to avoid waste.

The dialog between different actors along the value chain is considered crucial. Sustainable solutions for avoiding waste can only really work through joint action and the awareness of the sensitization gained for environmentally conscious use of resources can be further consolidated.

The situation in Cologne is challenging, but with the support of initiatives such as "Kölle Putzmunter" and the ongoing research to avoid waste, there could be a positive change of course. This shows that awareness of one's own responsibility is growing in the city and it is time to work together on a clean future.