Schillchaos in MV: Home of old clothing containers becomes a landfill!

Schillchaos in MV: Home of old clothing containers becomes a landfill!

Schwerin, Deutschland - In cities like Schwerin and Rostock, there is a worrying picture: overcrowded old clothes containers are increasingly transforming into wild dumps. Local residents complain about the contamination and the intolerable conditions that are created by improper use and defective space for old textiles. n-tv reports that significantly more complaints have been received since the beginning of the year. There are around 104 containers that are emptied by four charitable collectors, but the city is responsible for the disposal of unusable parts.

Schwerin is not the only problem child when it comes to old clothing containers. In Rostock, where more than 200 containers are set up, citizens complain about deductions from other providers - another annoyance that the city administration has regulated with a management contract for the old clothing market. The clear shipping mobile of the Office for Environmental and Climate Protection ensures that inadmissible deposits are removed, but the growing amount of inferior or damaged old textiles is a new challenge.

a nationwide problem

But it not only remains with Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: the situation is also tense in other federal states. Die Zeit describes, as is increasingly increasing in Schleswig-Holstein. In Kiel, for example, the waste management company has transferred responsibility for emptying and evacuation to the German Red Cross, but this cannot solve all problems. There are around 100 containers on public areas, which are often overcrowded.

in Lübeck has been collected with its own 160 containers since 2017, but here too, overcrowding and complaints from residents are the order of the day. The situation is similar in Flensburg, where the 88 containers from Textil Recycling Nord regularly overflow. A sign that the intervals may not be sufficient for emptying to cope with the problem.

the view of the waste record

In the overall view, the data on waste management in Germany show that the problem of garbage accumulation in old clothing containers is not an isolated case. According to Destatis, the statistics on waste management are usually comprehensive, but specific data on the various types of value are often missing. The increase in plastic and other waste is another warning signal.

The topic has considerable social and environmental policy dimensions. When more and more old clothing containers overflow and their surroundings are overflowing, the argumentation of sustainability and recycling is in danger. Wouldn't prudent solutions be asked here to actually make recycling a sustainable matter? The cities are required to provide both the infrastructure and to remind citizens of responsibility.

How it goes on remains to be seen. The residents hope for a quick action by the responsible authorities and an end to the wild dumps around the old clothing containers.