• Up to 15 tons of leaves are collected every day by the city cleaning staff.
• The leaves are collected in the green spaces and sometimes left in groups of trees.
• The cleaning of the sidewalks, which was partially transferred to residents, also applies to the removal of fallen leaves.

Whether city park, avenue ring or residential street - as every year in the fall, the trees shed a large amount of leaves within a short period of time. The employees of the green maintenance crews and the city cleaning department of Aachen's municipal services are out in force to collect the huge quantities of leaves. "Of course, this can only be done gradually," says Dieter Bohn, Head of City Cleaning and Winter Services at Stadtbetrieb. "We can't be in all places at the same time, but at the same time we try to clear all public areas such as streets, squares and cycle paths of leaves as quickly as possible."

For example, the city's large sweepers are deployed in two shifts and additional tours are also carried out at weekends. This is a common procedure in the fall to collect the leaves. Ten to 15 tons of rain-soaked leaves are collected by city cleaning staff every day. As these leaves are primarily picked up from the road, they are contaminated, partly due to tire abrasion, and, like the rest of the street sweepings, are sent for recycling, which first sorts out the recyclable parts. These are then used for road construction, among other things. The other part, the larger part during the leaf season, is then incinerated.

130 tons of leaves per week in the green spaces

In addition, around 400 cubic meters of leaves are currently collected every week in the city's green spaces and parks. Depending on the weather, this equates to around 130 tons. Some of this is left in the groves or brought there to serve as fertilizer and to create hibernation sites for small animals. The remaining leaves are collected centrally at the municipal nursery before being recycled as green waste.

In order to cope with the large quantities of leaves, the employees of Aachen's municipal services rely on mechanical support, including leaf blowers. In this way, the many paths and squares are made safe for traffic again within a short space of time. In the long term, the lawns will also remain usable for the coming spring, for example for leisure and sports.

Cleaning obligation of residents

Aachener Stadtbetrieb would like to point out that the cleaning of sidewalks in accordance with the street cleaning statutes, which have been partially transferred to residents according to the individual cleaning classes, also applies to the removal of fallen leaves. The collected leaves must not be swept onto the street. This could, for example, lead to a blockage of the rainwater inlets. Residents of Aachen can dispose of the collected leaves free of charge via the organic waste garbage can, the compost containers provided and at the City of Aachen's two recycling centers. Further information can be found at www.aachener-stadtbetrieb.de.