Toilet seats at bus stops Winterthur takes action in the fight against litter offenders
Litter bins at bus stops in Winterthur are often used as illegal disposal points. A campaign has so far failed to solve the problem. Now the city is taking stricter measures.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- In the city of Winterthur, the proportion of illegally disposed waste at bus stops is high.
- Sometimes even bulky items such as toilet seats and laptops are disposed of there.
- A campaign did not bring the desired success.
- Now police checks and smaller bin openings are to combat the problem.
In Winterthur, overflowing garbage bins at bus stops are an everyday nuisance. The garbage, which often comes from private households, is not only distributed in the bins, but also in their surroundings. According to the city administration, private household waste makes up more than half of the garbage at some bus stops, on average around 30 percent, reports "SRF".
Sometimes it seems as if people want to get rid of all their household waste. According to a report in the NZZ newspaper, illegally disposed diapers, toilet seats, laptops and sex toys are regularly found at bus stops.
Disposing of private waste in public waste garbage cans is illegal and punishable by law. To counteract this problem, the city launched a campaign in October with the slogan "Household waste is a private matter". With moderate success: although the situation has improved, according to Simon Amann from the city of Winterthur's cleanliness working group, the campaign was not a decisive turning point.
Increased police presence
The city is therefore now planning to take more repressive measures against illegal waste disposal. The environmental police are to carry out more checks at bus stops and in green spaces.
"In concrete terms, this means that patrols will stand next to litter bins and observe what is being disposed of there," Simon Amann told SRF. Fines will be imposed for violations.
Small openings will become even smaller
Another measure to curb the problem is smaller openings in the litter bins. Although the openings are already small, they could be made even smaller, says Amann.
However, it will take some time before the overflowing litter bins at the bus stops are a thing of the past. Those responsible want to take stock in the spring to see whether the measures are having an effect.
The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.
