ruth901
It's the same complaints over and over again that are received by the dozen in the Steinau town hall – and the situation is hardly different for colleagues in the other Bergwinkel municipalities: the garbage is not picked up, and the yellow bin is often left behind. Other streets or entire towns are always affected.
Steinau an der Straße – Steinau's mayor Christian Zimmermann (independent) is really angry when he reported at the beginning of May about a current case that also affects the municipality of Sinntal: “The collection of the yellow bin is overdue for over a week. When asked, they say they will be picked up later. In the meantime, it is also the turn of the paper bin. At most two thirds are removed properly. You never know when the bins will be taken away. But they have to stay outside. We now have several people busy with the complaints to pursue.”
Garbage collection in Bergwinkel has been causing trouble among citizens for years
Zimmermann's comments are part of a long series of complaints from many municipalities that have been heard for years. In some cases, cities and municipalities are not responsible at all and have no influence. This applies to the yellow bins. These belong to the dual system organized under private law and are financed by customers through the packaging of goods. The contractor here is the nationwide company Veolia, which has a branch in Schlüchtern – and uses Weisgerber as a subcontractor in the region.
When asked, the press office of the waste disposal division in Hamburg said: “In fact, we are aware of the complaints and irregularities. They have already been communicated to us via the municipal representatives. It is important to us to be a reliable partner locally and to ensure the contractually agreed service properly and satisfactorily. We are therefore in discussions with the service provider and are clarifying that the tours that were not driven will be made up for as quickly as possible.”
The Weisgerber company also has them Fulda newspaper asked for a comment. Even after several weeks there is still no answer.
Municipalities join forces to combat waste disposal problems
The municipalities' hands are largely tied. Reminders, contractual penalties and lawsuits have apparently had little or no effect so far. One problem is that the waste disposal market does not work. There are a number of large companies in the sector, often operating throughout Germany or nationally. However, it is not worth collecting them in small rural communities. As a result, they do not apply for the tenders. This is one reason why Weisgerber is responsible for an ever larger area.
With the tender starting in 2027 for five years plus an option for an extension, the district and eight municipalities are pooling their strengths, aligning their statutes and thus wanting to ensure more competition. Given the current high fuel prices, it remains questionable whether this approach will succeed in driving down the price. The actual aim of the campaign is to improve the quality of waste disposal. The silent hope is that the contract will go to a company that offers decent wages and good working conditions.
The fact that Weisgerber is probably not in the best position in this regard is shown by the prices in tenders, which are often significantly lower than the competition. The word “dumping” is making the rounds in this context. This is underlined by an observation that Zimmermann made one evening in front of his property in Steinau: “The bin had been standing for a week. Then a driver came to empty it in the evening around 7 p.m. – he was alone and had to drive backwards for hundreds of meters without any instructions. These are conditions that are not acceptable. It doesn't work properly.” (By Walter Kreuzer)
In Fulda, too, it was recently about garbage collection: The Hessentag ensures changes to the collection. Residents must observe special time windows and deadlines.
