More inspectors against garbage sinners in Stuttgart pay off - "It only works on the wallet"
Created: 06/09/2022, 14:09
By: Nadja Pohr
The fact that more and more rubbish offenders are being caught in Stuttgart shows that it was important and right to use more inspectors.
Nevertheless, there are still enough people who throw their cigarettes and other rubbish on the street.
© IMAGO/Michael Gstettenbauer
The city of Stuttgart has been taking tougher action on the subject of waste disposal for some time - with success.
The number of garbage offenders caught and the amount of fines imposed have recently increased significantly.
Stuttgart - "Stuttgart has become a stinking, dirty hole" - this is the devastating verdict of many citizens and traders about the Swabian metropolis.
When looking at the numerous mountains of rubbish on Schlossplatz or other busy places, many people lost the desire to linger there.
As early as 2018, politicians in Stuttgart decided to take massive action against uncontrolled waste disposal.
Four years ago, twelve jobs were created at the regulatory office just for the fight against garbage in the city.
"In practice, all 70 men and women from the prison service work on the issue, not just these twelve newly created positions," explained Albrecht Stadler from the Stuttgart regulatory office to the
Stuttgarter Zeitung (StZ).
The fines for rubbish offenders have also been tightened.
A look at the development of the numbers shows that the measures are already having an effect, as BW24 reports.
The city of Stuttgart is catching more and more rubbish offenders - fines of over 35,000 euros have already been imposed in 2022
In 2020, the officials of the public order office imposed 2593 fines.
Discarded cigarettes were the cause in 357 cases.
While the number fell slightly in the following year, a fine of 36,900 euros had already been incurred by the end of July 2022.
This not only includes offenses such as the careless throwing away of cigarette butts, which, including fees, entails a fine of more than 100 euros, penalties for illegally disposed waste also play their part.
Caution: Even the “giving away boxes” that are usually unsuspectingly left on the side of the road are regarded as illegally disposed waste and, in the worst case, there is a risk of a fine of several thousand euros.
The fact that more and more rubbish offenders are now being caught in Stuttgart is confirmation for the city that it was important and right to use more inspectors.
The employees of the public order office are particularly successful when they are out and about in civilian clothes.
But the officers of the prison service can also be seen more regularly in uniform.
"Due to the higher presence, many things are no longer thrown away," is Albrecht Stadler's conclusion.
Stuttgarters advocate stricter controls, but also call for more garbage cans
In the social networks, the people of Stuttgart react positively to the stricter controls and support them.
"Very good", "I think it's great", or "Right," write the users on Facebook.
Some even think that penalties for litter offenders should be higher.
"It only works through the wallet," argues one user.
"150 euros would be appropriate," suggests another as a punishment for throwing away cigarettes.
Although many citizens cannot understand why people throw their rubbish in the area, some think they have recognized a problem in the city.
"But significantly more garbage cans must also be set up," demands one user, sharing the opinion of other users.
Still others would like Stuttgart to be so consistent in other areas as well.
Illegal parkers, for example, are always an issue in the state capital.
Instead of taking action and collecting penalties, the city recently only distributed information leaflets.
