Fight against dirt: Trier starts great cleaning up!

Fight against dirt: Trier starts great cleaning up!

Norbert Braun, a committed employee of the citizens' service, dedicates his time to the thorough cleaning of traffic signs in Trier. This initiative to cleanliness is part of a comprehensive plan that aims at urban participation in order to actively involve the citizens in the process of beautifying the city. There are often unsightly stickers of traffic signs, traffic lights and lanterns, which is repeatedly criticized by residents in urban events. Inner city management has therefore made a cleaning start to create a more attractive cityscape.

On February 10, the first measures that include the basic cleaning of power boxes, signs, benches, bicycle stands and garbage cans began. The aim of these actions is to quickly remove dirt and avoid damage to new press -fill -bin and green seating. Down city director Ralf Britten has spoken out to ensure that the citizens should contribute their part to cleanliness. Employees like Braun make a valuable contribution, but he often needs an entire working day to clean a fully glued sign.

appeal to the citizens

As part of the efforts to make a clean cityscape, inner city management had formulated a few points that suggested it to the citizens. This includes the urgent request to dispose of garbage in the garbage buckets and keep public places and sidewalks free of waste. In addition, deposit rings are to be used exclusively for deposit bottles and cans, while new trash cans are purchased with a large capacity to facilitate waste management.

Another important point is respect for public property. Smokes and undesirable stickers cause high cleaning costs, which ultimately have to be borne by the citizens. The city therefore also calls for flower boxes not to use as an ashtray and to make sure that benches are kept clean in order to make it easier to use. A positive further development is that inner city management also encourages to report dirt or damage directly.

comparison with Cologne's initiative

In the context of the cleanliness initiatives, it is interesting to observe that extensive programs are also being developed in other cities such as Cologne to improve urban attraction. The Cologne city administration works together with the waste management companies on a "master plan of urban attraction". This is done in cooperation with the Institute for Waste, Wastewater and Infrastructure Management (Infa), which acts as an independent partner. A public participation process began on July 24, 2023, in which Cologne citizens can bring in their ideas and suggestions online.

The Cologne initiative plans several events in different districts to promote citizen participation and evaluate the collected contributions. This example shows that cities are working on similar topics beyond the borders and try to increase quality of life and residence through active citizen participation. The question of cleanliness is inevitably the focus, and both Trier and Cologne are required to find innovative solutions.