A cleanliness plan to maintain an attractive and sustainable city

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“Even if we already enjoy good results in terms of cleanliness, we must not rest on our laurels,” insists Marie Barbey-Chappuis, Executive Councillor responsible for the Department of Safety and Sports. “In this field, the population has high expectations, and cleanliness remains a key element in ensuring that Geneva remains attractive and sustainable.”

This plan has been established against a backdrop of numerous challenges. “The area to be cleaned in the City of Geneva has increased by 6% since 2015 and consumer habits, such as take-away food for example, have led to increased pressure on public areas, with a growing volume of waste,” continues Marie Barbey-Chappuis.

Walking in the districts to identify avenues for improvement

During the course of last year, the magistrate organised eight walks through the districts with the inhabitants’ associations as well as with the employees of the Road Services department and the municipal police. The aim was to identify what could be improved and adapt to new uses.

A global strategy and five objectives

Combined with the observations of the municipal departments, these local findings gave rise to a global strategy which will guide and direct the work of the Road Services department in the coming years. Five main objectives were identified:

• optimise cleaning quality by using innovative technologies;
• strengthen the fight against incivilities;
• stimulate citizen initiatives;
• enhance awareness among younger citizens concerning the right behaviour to adopt;
• promote more environmentally-friendly waste management.

The different objectives are explained in the cleanliness plan, available for download at the bottom of the page.

Of particular interest is the desire to use new technologies in order to deploy objective cleanliness measurements in the field with a view to implementing actions and allocating staff at the right place and the right time.

It is also a question of equipping the Road Services department with vehicles that pollute less, with a 50% increase in the number of electric sweepers and the purchase of ten electric lorries by 2024.

In addition to the awareness campaigns, which will continue to be implemented, the City will strengthen the punishment of incivilities, and in particular littering. In 2021, a record 690 littering offences in public areas were punished.

Citizen initiatives and partnerships with private players

Citizen initiatives will be prioritised and promoted through the provision of equipment by the Road Services department along with digital tools designed to help coordinate the involvement of the civil society in occasional cleaning operations. Private operators, and in particular those providing fast food services, will be encouraged to limit the impact of their waste in public areas. The development of partnerships in this field will be encouraged.

Promotion and improvement of waste sorting

In accordance with the City’s climate plan, an improvement in waste sorting, and in particular an increase in the number of neighbourhood ecopoints, is provided for. Waste sorting, including among the younger generations, will be encouraged more intensively in the primary schools located within the city.

Doubled efforts during the summer

Finally, every summer the Road Services department will adapt its organisation to deal with a greater number of users in public areas. This measure is already in force. Since 1 April, more than 50 additional ecopoints (added to the 139 points that already exist around the different districts) and one hundred large containers (added to the 3,100 rubbish bins that already exist around the City) have been installed in busy places. The number of staff tasked with litter picking and emptying the containers has also been increased.