Hameln banished old clothing container: cleanliness or flood of garbage?

Hameln banished old clothing container: cleanliness or flood of garbage?

Hameln, Deutschland - The city of Hameln is considering removing old clothing containers from the public traffic area. As Dewezet reports, the city administration has again treated the advance in the committee for law and security. The reason for this measure is alarming: public places on which old clothing and old glass containers stand are often misused as illegal garbage loading spaces. In order to counteract this problem, the city has decided not to give new permits for old clothing containers. Currently, only a private company with a special use permit for the drawing up of old clothing containers in Hameln.

From January 1, 2025, a new EU directive comes into force, which prescribes the separation collection of old textiles. According to the Kilian & colleagues, this will no longer be banned from residual waste. The aim of this regulation is to strengthen the circular economy and the promotion of reuse and recycling of textile materials. Heavily damaged textiles, such as torn clothing or worn bed linen, must no longer be disposed of together with the residual waste. For consumers, this means that they should inquire about the regional disposal regulations, because some municipalities are planning fines when old textiles are found in residual waste.

As the ZDF reports, over one million tons of old textiles in containers are lost in Germany, of which only about 50% are still useful. The new regulation should also promote awareness of sustainable consumption and encourage consumers to buy less, but to buy high quality clothing.

planned locations

The city of Hameln wants to concretize the decision on the locations for old clothing containers until September. These include:

• Alte Heerstraße/near the fire station
• Bertholdsweg
• Breslauer Allee/School Center
• Eintrachtweg
• Lawerweg
• Maschweg
• Osterplatz / Lindenweg
• Pappelallee
• Reuteranger
• Ruthenstraße / Am Hafen
• Schulstrasse
• Wilhelm-Lampe-Straße

The glass containers at these locations should remain. The administration is optimistic that reducing the containers to a type will reduce the problem of illegal garbage.

Finally, this topic will be dealt with in the Council of Hameln on September 18. In order for the new EU regulations to be implemented successfully, municipalities should have the opportunity to set up their own collective containers or to accept old textile materials at recycling centers. In addition, it is considered to check the compliance with the separation regulations and, if necessary, impose fines.

Overall, the upcoming EU directive brings with it both challenges and opportunities. Consumers are called up to actively inform themselves and to participate in solutions to reduce textile waste. A good hand in choosing the textiles and their disposal can help to relieve the environment sustainably.