• Aachener Stadtbetrieb is once again coordinating the municipal joint campaign for a clean city.
• Around 3,000 participants have already registered for the spring cleaning week from March 16 to 21.
• Mayor Ziemons: "If many people in many places in the city make a small contribution, then in the end it becomes a big deal."

Working together for a clean city: for the twelfth time, the City of Aachen is calling for a spring clean under the patronage of Lord Mayor Dr. Michael Ziemons. "Our city is our common home," emphasizes Michael Ziemons. "And city cleanliness is always a community task. It is the city of all Aacheners. During spring cleaning, everyone contributes to making the city shine and that is incredibly beautiful."

Around 3,000 registrations have already been received by Aachener Stadtbetrieb, which is organizing the hands-on campaign. Ziemons: "If many people make a small contribution in many places in the city, then it will end up being a big deal." The aim is not only to clean up the city, but also to strengthen the sense of responsibility for one's own environment. Because every single person influences nature and the city with their actions. Carelessly discarded waste has far-reaching ecological and economic consequences and poses a serious risk. Once the waste is in the environment, it releases pollutants, pollutes soil and water and endangers flora and fauna - often for many years to come.

Anyone can take part
Anyone who is interested can still register: Schools, day-care centres, clubs, authorities, organizations, but also private groups, companies, families and friends are called upon to collect garbage. As all public areas, meadows, playgrounds and parks throughout the city - with the exception of nature reserves - are open for litter collection, participants can take part wherever they live. "It is important that no waste is collected directly under bushes because of the breeding season for birds and other animal species," explains Heiko Thomas, Head of Climate and Environment, City Operations and Buildings at the City of Aachen.

Municipal waste bags, grippers and gloves (also for children) are provided free of charge by Aachener Stadtbetrieb. Schools and daycare centers that register for spring cleaning will be supplied with the necessary materials by the municipal company at an agreed time.

All other participants can obtain the equipment (after registration) from the district offices, the citizens' service or the Aachener Stadtbetrieb.

Registration
"Interested parties can still register via the form at http://www.aachen.de/frühjahrsputz," emphasizes Indra Balsam, Operations Manager of Aachener Stadtbetrieb. "When registering, it is important that the location where the full bin bags are to be deposited is described in detail so that the collected waste can also be found by Aachener Stadtbetrieb." Important: Aachener Stadtbetrieb may only collect waste that is deposited on public streets.

Collection of old cell phones

This year, spring cleaning is also a starting point: the city of Aachen is supporting Missio Aachen's cell phone collection campaign: "In the year of the World Equestrian Games Aachen, Missio wants to bring the circular economy to life together with Cicular City Aachen and do something in partnership to combat this waste of resources," says Anke Reermann from Missio Aachen. "We estimate that there are currently around 640,000 unused cell phones in drawers in Aachen. These contain valuable raw materials that we want to recycle." Collection points for this include the city's recycling centers, the city's mobile recycling center and the town hall.