The public order offices carry out checks against cigarette butts. (symbolic image)
© dpa
Smokers beware: anyone who carelessly discards their cigarette butt could be asked to pay up. According to the Mitte district, this could result in a warning fine of 55 euros or a fine of up to 120 euros.
The authorities are declaring war on litter this week. From today, employees of the public order office will be out and about in plain clothes and uniform to track down litterers.
Cigarette butts not only look ugly on streets and meadows or in parks. They also pose an environmental and health problem, the district explained. The butts contain pollutants that can get into the groundwater and contaminate drinking water. They are also dangerous for children and animals if swallowed.
"Illegal rubbish dumping and littering are a massive problem for the Mitte district," explained district councillor Christopher Schriner. The removal of rubbish leads to an enormous amount of work and high costs for Berliner Stadtreinigung (BSR). The BSR removes around 2.9 billion items from public streets every year. According to the information, heavily littered areas were already cleaned around the "World Clean Up Days" on 20 September. The focus campaign of the public order offices is intended to support the work and help keep the freshly cleaned areas clean in the long term.
Berlin has declared war on environmental pollution in general: illegal waste disposal is set to become significantly more expensive than before. In August, the Senate introduced a new catalogue of fines that provides for drastically higher penalties. According to the environmental administration, throwing a cigarette butt on the ground will cost 250 euros in future instead of the previous 55 euros. The new fine for not removing dog faeces or leaving dog waste bags behind is €100 to €350 instead of €55. Bulky waste left on the street or in the forest will incur fines of €1,500 to €11,000 in future, depending on the amount. Previously, the fine was €150 to €500. It is not yet clear when the new list of fines will come into force. First, the Council of Mayors must discuss it before the Senate makes a final decision.