The surveillance cameras installed next to used clothing recycling bins in Bergisch Gladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, have been removed. The city's Safety and Order Committee reported that this move came after the municipal legal department determined that video surveillance is not lawful under data protection law—the cameras had been installed in summer and have now all been taken down, with follow-up measures still under evaluation.

Key Points

  • The city installed surveillance cameras this summer at 4 locations with the most serious used clothing recycling bin problems, aiming to track down illegal dumpers.
  • The municipal legal department ruled that video surveillance is only permitted when there is a concrete danger to life or property; purely preventive surveillance is unlawful.
  • The cameras have now been removed, and the municipal authorities say there is no definitive decision yet on how to respond going forward, and other feasible options are being studied.

Used Clothing Recycling Bins Reduced to Mixed Waste Dumping Sites

According to the city's report, what is discarded next to used clothing recycling bins is far more than clothing—it also includes household waste, bulky waste, electronic scrap, and even waste oil. The large amount of non-textile debris mixed in has effectively turned the used clothing recycling bins into municipal waste stations.

To identify those responsible for dumping, the municipal department installed cameras starting this summer at the 4 most severely affected bin locations.

Legal Obstacle: Preventive Surveillance Not Permitted

However, this approach was rejected by the municipal legal department. According to the city, video surveillance is only permitted when there is a concrete danger to life or property and cannot be used for purely preventive purposes. In other words, tracking down littering is a preventive law enforcement need that does not meet the surveillance threshold set by data protection law.

Surveillance Withdrawn, Alternative Solutions Pending

The cameras have now been removed. As for how to deal with the mixed waste around used clothing recycling bins going forward, the municipal authorities say there is no definitive decision yet and other possible approaches are being reviewed.

For the used clothing recycling and second-hand textiles industry, this incident reflects a real difficulty in Europe's used clothing collection chain: abuse of recycling bins is widespread, while operators and municipalities are constrained by strict data protection rules in their means of accountability, leaving limited room for governance.

Source: Aus für Überwachungskameras an Altkleidercontainern · Originally published on 2026-10-08