This opinion is reflected in a Forsa survey conducted by General-Anzeiger and Radio Bonn/Rhein-Sieg. More than half of the respondents (54 percent) say there is too much filth and trash in Bonn. Male respondents are more satisfied with the cityscape than female residents. 59 percent of men agree that Bonn is mostly clean. The political orientation of the respondents is also interesting. For the Greens, 53 percent of supporters think the city is clean; from the CDU party, only 38 percent think so, and 61 percent think the city is dirty. This is similar to the Left party, where 60 percent perceive a lack of cleanliness.

Ralf Bockshecker, Head of Citizen Services at the City of Bonn, finds agreement with the comments. "From our point of view, it is unfortunately not as clean everywhere in the city as we would like it to be, also with regard to the aspect of safety and order. This is one of the reasons we are currently developing a concept on how we can improve safety and cleanliness in Bonn." It is intended to create an overview of where there is a need to catch up. "We are also in constant exchange with Bonnorange, who are also very interested in countering the increasing littering," Bockshecker continues.

The spokesperson of Bonnorange, Jerome Lefèvre, is satisfied with the cleanliness of Bonn and the performance of Bonnorange. But the tasks of the city cleaning crews are subject to many external influences. The heavy use of public areas, people spending more of their free time in green spaces and pedestrian zones, and increasing amounts of to-go packaging are leading to littering, he says.

Bonnorange employees use a variety of criteria to measure cleanliness. "They look out for overflowing wastebaskets, littering, dog excrement, broken glass, graffiti, chewing gum, cigarette butts, leaves and wild growth. Bonnorange is mainly responsible for cleaning the roadway, and here we achieve good results," says Lefèvre. The situation is different on the sidewalks, especially those where adjacent property owners are responsible for cleaning. "City cleanliness is a task that we can only manage together with the people of Bonn," Lefèvre says, in an appeal to residents.

For Lefèvre it is clear: "There should be no social acceptance for littering and those who knowingly violate this must be punished", fines and control by the public order office are possibilities (for keeping it in check). Van Beek shares this opinion. Cleaning up what one has brought to a barbecue or picnic is the least one can do. From the past years of collecting garbage, it has become clear that a lot of food packaging and bottle caps find their way onto the streets and into the bushes.

Climate change is also contributing to Bonn residents spending more time outdoors, he said. "The long, dry summers due to climate change mean that we spend more and more time in the parks in Bonn and on the banks of the Rhine. The coronavirus pandemic reinforced that. But what's stopping each of us from having a garbage bag with us when we plan a picnic, and taking our garbage with us?" he asks. Dog owners, after all, manage to have a bag with them for what they leave behind.

The first step toward a clean city, he says, is to avoid litter, followed by preparing it for reuse. This is a crucial contribution to climate and environmental protection. It is also important to separate properly so that recyclables can be recycled.

According to Saskia Kutsche, PR manager of the municipal utility's waste recycling plant, separation in Bonn is very poor in some areas. Simply throwing everything together is not a good idea in her view. "In my eyes, our society is too consumer-oriented. Instead of repairing, buying new is preferred." She is certain that, in addition to the mobility turnaround and the energy turnaround, there is also an urgent need for a waste turnaround. "For the climate targets, it's already more five past twelve than five to twelve anyway," says Kutsche.

Waste accumulation has changed during the pandemic years. Lefèvre calls this the "Amazon effect." More shopping is done online, resulting in more boxes and packaging waste. That leads to a greater burden on employees when the waste is not emptied into a blue recycle garbage can, but instead lies in bundles or loose on the side of the road, and in some cases also becomes soggy due to the weather, according to the press spokesperson.

Kutsche has noticed the change, too. "Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a change in the amount of waste has been noticed. Before the corona pandemic, the use of disposables was decreasing. Because of the pandemic, it has increased a lot again. In some cases, more is being consumed in disposables than at the beginning of the pandemic." From the amount and composition of waste, he said, it's apparent that people are at home more because they work from home.

Commissioned by General-Anzeiger and Radio Bonn/Rhein-Sieg, Forsa Society for Social Research and Statistical Analysis GmbH asked 22 questions to 750 people over age 16 in the Rhein-Sieg district and 751 in Bonn in August of this year. The selection procedure for the telephone interviews guarantees that all population groups are represented in the sample. This makes the results representative. The questions cover different areas of daily life and local politics. GA and the radio station present the results in the series "So ticken wir! The Great Home Check," which runs until October 8. The next installment will focus on the traffic situation in Bonn and the region.

(Orig. text: Maike Velden / Translation: ck)