Tens of thousands of metric tons of leaves: BSR begins cleanup

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The Berlin City Cleaning Department has begun its annual leaf cleanup.

The company announced that, in the coming weeks and months, employees are expected to rake up another 36,000 metric tons of fallen leaves. That is equivalent to the weight of about 6,000 African elephants. A total of 2,400 employees with 550 vehicles are working to collect the leaves.

District offices responsible for parks and green spaces

However, they are only responsible for public streets. According to the information provided, this includes sidewalks and bike paths, as well as streets that would otherwise be cleaned by the BSR. "On streets where regular cleaning is the responsibility of residents, they must remove the leaves themselves," the statement said. In parks and green spaces, the district offices are generally responsible.

Do not leave leaves from private properties on the street

Anyone who clears leaves from their private property can use special BSR leaf bags for this purpose. But be warned: "Anyone who simply dumps garden leaves on the street is committing an administrative offense and risks a fine." The leaves collected by the BSR are taken to large-scale composting facilities, where they are turned into new compost.