Saxony is fighting against the flood of garbage: thousands of tons illegally disposed of!
Northern Saxony is fighting against illegal dumping of waste. 290 tons of waste in 2024 – costs and measures in focus.

Saxony is fighting against the flood of garbage: thousands of tons illegally disposed of!
Like many Saxon cities, Cologne is faced with a huge environmental problem: tens of thousands of tons of illegally dumped waste have to be removed every year. This mainly involves bulky waste, residual waste, building rubble, scrap and old tires. The municipalities are resorting to various measures to minimize the damage. The focus is on educational initiatives, the use of environmental detectives and offers to exchange or repair objects. An evaluation by mz.de shows that Leipzig has seen a dramatic increase in illegal waste dumping in recent years.
In 2024, for example, 4,129 tons of illegal waste were removed in Leipzig - a worrying increase compared to 2,271 tons in 2023 and 2,605 tons in 2022. These increasing numbers have various causes: an increase in packaging waste, the growing urban area and a general declining sense of responsibility among citizens. In Chemnitz alone, 752 garbage removal operations were recorded in 2024, which cost around 50,000 euros. Waste disposal is also not cheap in Dresden, where a total of 518 tons of illegal waste was removed in 2023 and 479 tons in 2024. The city's expenses here amount to around 450,000 euros annually.
Measures by municipalities
To deal with this growing problem, cities are turning to creative solutions. In Leipzig, for example, environmental detectives like Janis and Carl are on duty. Your working day starts early at 6 a.m. at the recycling center. Using a defect detector, they look for new orders to document and remove illegal waste. During their missions they find all kinds of waste, from scrap to old clothing. These are photographed and digitally documented in order to provide evidence against waste offenders. In these cases, fines can be up to 100,000 euros, depending on the type and amount of garbage, as mdr.de explains.
But city cleaning is not only under pressure in Leipzig. Around 290 tons of illegal waste were discovered in northern Saxony in 2024, including an alarming number of used tires and several vehicle wrecks. These illegal deposits caused costs of over 300,000 euros. Such figures illustrate the urgency with which municipalities must act. In many cases, administrative offense proceedings can be initiated, and in around 20 percent of cases there is a punishment. The Environmental Protection Fines Catalog sets out the regulations for the financial punishment of environmental violations.
Social responsibility and education
The environmental detectives and the city administrations are working intensively to raise awareness of the waste problem. Janis and Carl emphasize the social responsibility of each individual when dealing with the environment. Education is a key to long-term solutions. As part of their work, they informed citizens about disposal options and pointed out the city cleaning app, which serves as a useful tool for reporting defects.
Given these challenges, there is no doubt that innovative approaches are needed to combat the problem of illegal dumping and protect the environment. Municipalities' efforts to raise awareness among citizens while maintaining order are crucial to the future quality of life in our cities.