Recently, sanitation workers in the town of Ummern in Lower Saxony, Germany, have repeatedly faced extra workloads: even when public old-clothes collection bins are full, residents continue to pile large bags of old clothes beside the containers. In the past three weeks alone, this situation has occurred frequently, forcing the sanitation department to clean up again and again.

Mayor Lena-Sophie Laue expressed regret over this and stressed that leaving overflowing old clothes on the ground is not a solution. She pointed out that it is not the sanitation department's job to regularly clean the areas around collection bins or dispose of clothes dumped at random. These practices not only place an extra burden on the community but also seriously damage the appearance of the village. Once bags are damaged or soaked by rain, clothing and garbage can easily scatter around, harming environmental hygiene.

For this reason, the town government explicitly urges residents not to place bags full of clothing or other items next to already-full collection bins, and to use other proper channels instead. The local REMONDIS environmental services recycling point in Wesendorf (address: An der Kreisstraße 7, 29392 Wesendorf) can accept old clothes free of charge during opening hours.

Mayor Laue emphasized, "A clean village is not the responsibility of the sanitation department alone—everyone can contribute." She stated plainly, "A full collection bin does not mean you can just toss your bags aside."

Source: Altkleider gehören nicht neben den Container · Originally published on 2026-08-25