Legal dispute in Dübendorf ZH Woman deposits garbage bag - city wants to fine her 300 francs

A woman deposited her waste in front of the entrance in Dübendorf ZH because the collection point was closed for an unscheduled period. The town wanted to fine her for this - and failed in court.

On June 22, 2023, a woman in Dübendorf ZH wanted to dispose of a bag of rubbish at the main collection point. The plan failed because the disposal point was closed for an unscheduled period and the staff were on a company outing. The woman therefore left the bag outside the gates, as reported by the "Zürichsee Zeitung ".

She apparently did this to the chagrin of the employees at the waste disposal site: they searched the bag the next day and tracked down the alleged litterer. Shortly afterwards, the woman received a letter from the municipality: an invoice for 300 francs "for your illegal waste disposal", issued on Friday, June 23.

The accused defended herself before the district council - with success. The municipality of Dübendorf is allowed to demand a contribution towards costs if someone disposes of their waste in non-fee-paying garbage bags. However, the woman had used a chargeable bag. She had thus paid the costs of disposal.

Administrative court agrees with the woman

This was not littering, as a full garbage bag is not small waste. And according to the district council, the unscheduled closure of the collection point could not be blamed on the woman either, even though the city had pointed this out several times.

The authorities did not accept the district council's reasoning and took the case to the administrative court. The reasoning: Otherwise, anyone could simply deposit their waste in front of the entrance when the collection point was exceptionally closed.

However, the Administrative Court also declared the controversial fee to be illegal. As a result, the woman does not have to pay the fine.

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