As of: March 26, 2024, 7:04 a.m
By: Daniela Pohl
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With higher temperatures, the amount of trash on the streets in Munich is increasing again.
Now there are suggested solutions.
Munich - What a mess!
The glass containers at the Glockenbach are overflowing.
Bottles lie all over the place in front of the dirty collection containers at the recycling island in Munich's chic district.
In between, someone disposed of old clothes and shoes including a bicycle helmet.
The problem is not new.
Many recycling islands in the city are dirty and filled with rubbish.
In spring, when people go out more, the amount of (party) waste carelessly thrown away increases again.
“The problem is that no one really feels responsible.
The disposal company's hotline is posted at the containers - but hardly anyone calls.
Instead, many people simply add their bottles,” says Benoît Blaser (Greens), chairman of the Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt district committee.
Garbage problem in Munich: Are the patrols coming now?
The private waste disposal companies Remondis and Wittmann, which are commissioned by the Dual System Germany (DSD), are responsible for the approximately 950 recycling islands in the city area.
In the east, Wittmann disposes of metal and plastics.
Remondis does the same in the west and is solely responsible for all 2,500 glass containers in the city.
At the city's insistence, two thirds of the containers are now emptied three times a week after the garbage crisis worsened during Corona.
The complaints are increasing.
Problems with illegal dumping, vermin and noise concern district committees across the city.
The garbage is piling up around a recycling island in the Glockenbachviertel.
© Marcus Schlaf
With spring comes the trash: There are many attempted solutions
There are many attempted solutions - more containers, underground containers, faster emptying cycles.
But it's often not just a lack of suitable locations and money.
Garbage sinners are partly to blame for the blighted cityscape.
In 2021, Kristina Frank (CSU) only imposed 18 fines for unauthorized waste dumping.
In 2022 there were just two fines by May.
Illegal waste dumping in public spaces is increasing.
Bulky waste, electrical appliances, residual waste – according to waste disposal companies, the amount of waste collected next to the recycling islands has increased significantly in recent years.
Frank therefore suggested the use of garbage detectives to monitor recycling islands, which was rejected by the majority of the town hall.
A push aimed at prevention seems to have a better chance of success.
A cross-party city council proposal calls for the use of so-called “waste watchers”.
“Waste watchers” called for in Munich - based on the Hamburg model
A kind of garbage patrol based on the Hamburg model is intended to raise awareness and educate citizens and, if necessary, also impose fines.
In Hamburg, over 500,000 euros were collected from warnings and fines in 2022, according to the application.
It remains to be seen whether the model will also be introduced in Munich.
“The state capital of Munich is currently developing a cross-departmental concept of how this can be achieved and financed,” says a municipal department spokeswoman.
The plans to introduce a new collection system are more concrete.
It is intended to improve waste separation for Munich residents and relieve the burden on recycling islands in the future.
A pilot test is currently underway with three different collection systems (see article below).
The city council decides which system is used.
However, the recycling islands will not disappear - they will remain for glass.
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