Not only is the cost of clearing the waste significant, but it also has a key impact on the environment. Each year, around 480 tonnes of illegal waste is dumped in green spaces or near recycling centres in Luxembourg City.
The mayor condemned such fly tipping, whether it occurs in parks such as Bambësch or Kockelscheuer or surrounding recycling centres. With a tone of astonishment, Polfer reported that people tend to dump all kinds of things: hygiene units have not only found the usual cardboard or bottles illegally dumped, but also televisions and washing machines.
The special hygiene service unit has to work daily to clear up these areas, which costs the municipal authorities nearly €900,000 per year. Luxembourg City's authorities are of course keen to avoid fly tipping as much as possible, facilitating the process of recycling in the process.
Currently, there are 61 public collection stations, the recycling centre is open from Monday to Saturday and offers a free service, and finally, the hygiene unit will collect cumbersome waste from households for free once a year.
It appears that the carrot is insufficient, which is why the municipal authorities are also using the stick method.
The hygiene unit uses a number of means to try and discover perpetrators of fly tipping, including resident tip-offs and the police. The unit has used means such as photographs of cars that have left their waste and has searched the waste for any indication of the person's address.
In 2016, the police issued 134 fines at a cost of €148. Polfer has also vowed to begin an awareness campaign to discourage fly tippers.
