Illegal garbage dumps in the Rostock district: the environment is in danger!

Illegal garbage dumps in the Rostock district: the environment is in danger!

Things are boiling in the Rostock district: more and more wild garbage dumps are appearing in nature. Roger Hewelt, the head of the environmental office in Güstrow, draws attention to a worrying phenomenon. Not only sanitary facilities and hygiene products are often disposed of illegally, but also car wrecks, scrap metal and construction site waste. These wastes are often covered with soil, which reduces the visibility of illegal dumping. The reason for such environmental sins? Many polluters try to avoid the disposal costs for recycling centers and thus commit an administrative offense that can be punished with extensive effort and high fines. Depending on the federal state, the range ranges from 5 to 10,000 euros.

A weekly intervention by the Environment Agency is unavoidable in order to respond to the rapidly increasing number of reports of unauthorized waste dumping. According to Hewelt, identifying the perpetrators is a rarity. Farmers who are unwittingly involved in the schemes are particularly often affected.

What is wild garbage?

But what exactly does “wild garbage” mean? This designation includes any waste that is illegally dumped in the open countryside, in forests, along streams or in public places. Typical examples of this are household and bulky waste, building rubble, construction site waste, excess excavated soil and car wrecks. Even waste that is covered with soil falls under this category and is therefore not legally disposed of.

The Rostock district waste authority offers citizens the opportunity to report such cases. If you discover a wild dump, it is recommended to take photos and immediately forward the report to the lower waste authority. This helps document the extent of the problem and hold those responsible accountable. One thing is clear: dumping wild garbage is not only prohibited, but is also an administrative offense that can be punished in any case, as the Nordkurier reports.

Fines at a glance

In Germany, the fines for illegal dumping vary greatly depending on the federal state. While in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria fines of 10 to 300 euros can be imposed for small amounts of waste, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the penalties for more serious violations can be up to 10,000 euros. If you look at the regulations in other federal states, you can see that the highest fines can usually be up to 50,000 euros in serious cases, such as the illegal dumping of hazardous waste. Bussgeldkatalog provides a detailed overview.

The Waste Management Act (KrWG) in Germany requires all citizens to take responsibility when dealing with waste. But while the measures taken to avoid waste and recycling are very important, the extent of illegal waste dumping is a serious problem that affects everyone. Even though many people seem to have an innate awareness of environmental issues and waste separation, there are still many who prefer the simple option of illegal disposal as a solution.

The responsibility now lies with all of us: let us be vigilant and fight the wild garbage in our beautiful nature together. Any trash found that is disposed of correctly helps keep our landscape clean and livable.