By Hildburg Bruns and Mareike Drünkler
Orange gets sophisticated technical help in the fight for more cleanliness! In the vineyard park, a robot vacuums up stuck bottle caps. In North Neukölln, the public order office uses night vision devices to hunt down garbage offenders. And in 100 problem hotspots, garbage garages are opening for 240-liter containers. They were tested at Hermannplatz.
The capital and the dirt – not a new problem. In a T-Online survey, Berlin came out on top by a wide margin – Germany’s garbage capital!
Garbage hotspot Mittelbuschweg (Neukölln) Photo: Sven Meissner
“We have a cleanliness problem”
“We have a cleanliness problem in the city,” says BSR supervisory board chairman and Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey (45, SPD). She summarizes what she sees as the most important annoyances in four big “Cs”: “Tipping, bottle caps, excrement, cardboard boxes”.
In addition to the money from fee payers, another 138 million euros will flow to the BSR from the 2024 economic budget alone. In the current budget deliberations, MPs are again increasing almost 29 million euros for green spaces, playgrounds, graffiti removal and the collection of illegal garbage. Since May, the districts are no longer responsible for this on streets and in parks, but rather the BSR by law.
The planned technological innovations include the use of a cleaning robot made in Munich, which, like a lawn mower, will collect rubbish controlled by an invisible hand for up to eight hours. It is intended to support cleaners in parks, but not to replace them, as a BSR spokesman emphasizes.
The Angsa robot (60 kg) has already been tested in Weinbergspark and Spreebogen Photo: Angsa Robotics
The collection result of an Angsa robot Photo: Angsa Robotics
Even the waste containers on the side of the road are being upgraded with digitalization: They should display and report the level of their filling. “That already exists in Amsterdam,” says Giffey.
Another step forward: Since April, the BSR has provided each district with at least two appointments per month for bulky waste. Private households can then dispose of old items at a designated location or exchange or give away items that can be used. The “Tiptapp” app has also been extended until June: Berliners with and without cars can use it to network in order to organize trips to recycling centers.
This construction for 240 liter bins is called a garbage garage. They will soon be at 100 hotspots; the test took place at Hermannplatz Photo: Sven Meissner
Giffey: “But the best BSR cannot solve the problems if everyone in Berlin does not do their part. One problem is the “I don’t care” attitude.”