For the most part, the small piles of trash are found at the edge of the forest, hidden in the shelter of trees and shrubs. "Parking lots and forest entrances are always collection points for trash. People sit down here in the evening and consume alcohol. Others drive up in cars and quickly unload their trash," Sommerhäuser knows.

Small hip flasks, used handkerchiefs and wine bottles are scattered around the parking area. However, such leftovers are also found in the middle of the forest in popular places - for example, at the Blue Lake view, adds the head of the district forester's office. "Sometimes I have to fetch entire beer crates from the forest at such vantage points."

In the meantime, Sommerhäuser has therefore set up a small storage facility for used glass at the forester's lodge. But the so-called "recreational waste" is otherwise disposed of by the city of Bonn, he says. In the case of bulky waste, which is less frequently dumped in the forest, the company joins forces with the waste management company Bonnorange.

A lot of organic waste accumulates especially during the pruning times. Then people unload regularly grass and rear cuttings in the forest. Recently a presumed Christmas tree provided confusion, which had been deposited together with pot in the forest. "Normally, I’d pull the fir out of its container and throw the rest into the green garbage can," Sommerhäuser marvels.

But most forest visitors take their trash back with them, according the district forester. "If everyone who is out and about in the forest left their trash lying around, it would look much worse." But the actions of individuals can also add up to littering the forest and exposing it to a particular risk: "With the current ongoing drought and heat, there is an increased risk of forest fires. The forest floor is now so powder-dry that even a gas bottle or a discarded cigarette butt can be enough to ignite it," warns Sommerhäuser.

That's why he appeals: "If you empty a bottle, then please take it back and dispose of it properly." Likewise, forest visitors should not make a fire, do not barbecue and be mindful in any case. "We must assume in the next few weeks that the increased risk of forest fires will continue.“

The fact that it comes again and again to garbage disposals, for it Sommerhäuser has no understanding: "It cannot be that nature areas such as forest and Feldflur must hold out as garbage dumps. There are the most different possibilities to dispose of its garbage.“

Organic waste, for example, can be given to the municipal green containers and collection points, used glass also belongs in the container. The district forester rarely catches offenders in the act. "Something like this usually happens in the late evening hours, and as foresters we are on the road on many hectares of land. You can't be everywhere at once, so it's hard to monitor," Sommerhäuser explains.

There is support from the Rhein-Sieg district, which has assigned law enforcement officers in the nature reserves in the Siebengebirge to ensure that the rules are observed. "More can also be done. But we will never get a complete grip on the problem," says Sommerhäuser. That's why the district forester wants to raise awareness among forest visitors once again. "I ask people to stop disposing of their waste in the forest, it only harms the environment.“

Looking back to the Corona period and the extreme forest tourism that resulted from the pandemic, Sommerhäuser gives the all-clear. "The pressure on the forests has decreased again, and accordingly there is not as much trash."

Original text: Niklas Schröder

Translation: Mareike Graepel