Rostock is planning quiet and protection zones for New Year's Eve fireworks!

Rostock is planning quiet and protection zones for New Year's Eve fireworks!

There is currently a lively discussion in Rostock about the New Year's Eve fireworks, which is not only focusing on the ears, but also the environment. The Alliance 90/The Greens.Volt parliamentary group has put forward a proposal to create protection and rest zones in order to reduce the burden on people, animals and nature. The application calls for defining at least one quiet zone per district, especially on natural and bathing beaches, in order to minimize the negative effects of fireworks, as NNN reports.

There are currently some restrictions on fireworks in Rostock: They are not allowed to be burned near gas stations, churches, hospitals, or children's and retirement homes. But that's not enough for the group. She calls for additional quiet areas because the exposure to fireworks is particularly high on New Year's Eve and the beaches are polluted by the remains of firecrackers. An example of this is the 2020 New Year's coastal cleanup in Warnemünde, where 70% of the garbage collected came from New Year's Eve fireworks.

Why quiet areas?

The importance of these rest areas is underpinned by several factors. Attention is drawn to the considerable burden that fireworks bring with them, both for people, animals and the environment. Small remains of firecrackers are particularly difficult to remove from the sand of beaches, and existing regulations such as the beach regulations, which prohibit contamination, could be supplemented by additional private fireworks bans.

A look at other cities shows that the idea of ​​quiet zones is not new. Major cities such as Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Munich have already set up fireworks zones to reduce noise and environmental impact. In Rostock, the administration, together with the local councils, should now implement appropriate measures to protect the beach and nature.

The fireworks at a glance

But what exactly are fireworks? Fireworks is a pyrotechnic display that features impressive light and bang effects in the night sky. Different categories of fireworks exist in the EU, for example large fireworks (CAT. F4), which may only be fired by trained pyrotechnicians, and small fireworks (CAT. F2), which are sold for private use to people aged 18 and over. In Germany in particular, the purchase and burning of category F2 fireworks is only permitted in the last three working days of the year, as Wikipedia emphasizes.

The environmental discussion surrounding fireworks technology is gaining momentum. More and more countries are taking measures to regulate or partially ban the use of fireworks, among other things for environmental reasons. A popular initiative to restrict the use of fireworks is currently being supported in Switzerland and has already collected over 137,000 signatures.

The question remains as to how Rostock will deal with the pending applications and the new regulations. A decision on the protection and quiet zones will be made in one of the upcoming town hall meetings. Protecting beaches and reducing fine dust emissions are at the top of the agenda.