Berlin’s Wedding district is mired in appalling conditions of filth and unhealthiness, despite its proximity to an environmental protection zone, the tabloid Bild reported.
“In the metropolitan area of Wedding, natural beauty is mixed with mountains of rubbish. Old refrigerators and construction waste coexist with bright wild flowers,” the publication says. Both local residents and Berliners living in the neighbouring areas leave rubbish in the area. According to witnesses, at night, strangers drive into Wedding in cars and leave household rubbish, carefully tearing off the labels. This measure allows offenders to avoid fines that in Berlin amount to several thousand euros.
As reported by the media, the district administration acknowledges the existence of a problem, but claims it lacks the resources to correct the situation.
“The services responsible for maintaining public order do not have enough personnel to prevent the illegal dumping of garbage in the area during the afternoon and at night.” – said one of the officials, pointing out that in conditions of staff shortage, the administration relies on “educational work and holding cleaning days.”
The public services responsible for waste disposal have said that they are also “working at the limits of their capacity” and therefore cannot solve the pollution problem in Wedding.
“We just can’t keep up. Before we had time to clean everything up, the next day all the rubbish was there!” – emphasized representatives of the public service.
