Rostock in the scrap bike spiral: over 280 bicycles in 2025!
Rostock in the scrap bike spiral: over 280 bicycles in 2025!
Rostock, Deutschland - In the north German cities, the problem of scrap bikes is becoming increasingly pressing. In Rostock, for example, the number of bicycles that are no longer traveling increased dramatically in the first half of 2025. 280 such bikes have already been reported, while there were only 96 reports throughout 2023. In 2022 the number of scrap bikes was 329. In view of this increase, the Rostock city administration said that the increase is directly related to the increasing number of electric bicycles that are often no longer used by its owners. Wismar fm reports that in other cities such as Schwerin, Neubrandenburg and Stralsund there are no statistics to remove scrap bikes.
The situation in Wismar is also interesting, where only 22 bicycles were disposed of in 2024. Here old wheels are initially given a note, and the owners have four weeks to remove their bike. Over 50 percent of these bikes find their way back to their owners. In the nearby Greifswald, on the other hand, around 120 bicycles that were no longer used were disposed of last year, with a special focus on the station forecourt, where 68 scrap bikes were removed alone. These bicycles are not only an aesthetic problem, but can also become disability and risk in public space.high costs and effort for disposal
The removal of such bicycles is not only a logistical problem, but also a financial. According to an analysis by [Sazbike] (https://www.sazbike.de/markt-politik/recycling/teurer-bicycle million-milling-shatter-2923440.html), scrap bikes burden many cities in Germany with considerable costs caused by personnel use and cleaning actions. In large cities such as Hamburg, Cologne and Munich, several thousand scrap bikes are removed every year. For example, over 4,600 bicycles in Hamburg have to be removed every day, while the total costs for elimination in Germany are estimated at 16 to 25 million euros annually.
These financial burdens, not least, stir from the fact that regulatory offices are often understaffed and have great difficulty in grasping the bikes and adequately disposed of. While only 876 marked bicycles were removed in Berlin-Steglitz in 2022, this shows how stressful and complex the problem of scrap bikes is.
initiatives for problem solving
The challenges of scrap bikes are diverse, and it remains to be hoped that the situation in the cities will improve the situation in the cities through consistent measures. A communal commitment of the cities could make the streets more beautiful again and at the same time reduce the pressure on public places.
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| Ort | Rostock, Deutschland |
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