Cologne in garbage chaos: City guide sounds the alarm for environmental protection!

Cologne in garbage chaos: City guide sounds the alarm for environmental protection!

In Cologne, dissatisfaction with the city's increasing littering is becoming louder and louder. Petra Liessem, a city guide with almost 15 years of experience, reports on the challenges she encounters during her tours covering 2,000 years of prostitution history in Cologne. She always notices how much garbage affects the cityscape. "The city is becoming increasingly dirtier. It's a real problem," she says critically. What is particularly alarming is that the public order office grants concessions to fast food stores without adequately examining these establishments' waste disposal concepts.

Liessem makes an appeal to the “Fridays for Future” generation, who often show a contradiction to their waste behavior in their climate protection demos. She also criticizes the insufficient number of garbage cans and public toilets in the city, which further exacerbates the situation. “There are many feces corners in the city center, that is unacceptable,” she complains. The waste management companies (AWB) also seem to be overwhelmed by the constantly growing amount of waste.

Public order and security

Another point of criticism is the lack of presence of the public order office, especially on the busy Ehrenstrasse. Liessem repeatedly notices that parking bans are not being observed and cyclists are traveling much too fast on sidewalks. “Society is failing in everyday life,” is how she sums up her concerned conclusion. The focus should be on making the urban environment cleaner and safer.

But there are also positive approaches to waste prevention in Cologne. One of these is the “Active for Cologne” campaign, which was launched by the AWB. This project aims to use resources sustainably and promotes the “zero waste” approach. The campaign provides support for waste separation and encourages citizens to take action in their own households. “Completely avoiding waste is often difficult in everyday life, but every small contribution counts,” says the message. AWB is also intensively committed to garbage collection and street cleaning.

Sustainable shopping alternatives

For everyone who wants to actively contribute to waste avoidance, the “ Zollstock unpacked ” shop on Höninger Weg 177 offers sustainable shopping alternatives. There is a wide range of fresh food and environmentally friendly drugstore items, all without packaging. “We want to encourage customers to produce less waste,” explains a store employee. By selling products in large containers and allowing you to bring your own containers, packaging waste is significantly reduced. Opening times are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you would like to know more, you can reach the store on 0221/16839854 or on their website www.zollstock-unverpackt.de.

Cologne still has a long way to go to raise awareness about waste prevention and cleanliness in the city. Joint efforts are needed to positively change the future cityscape and appreciate the value of a clean environment.