Cleaning public areas

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Approximately 200 employees of the Street cleaning-Clean city department, divided into seven geographic cleaning sectors, are responsible for keeping the City of Geneva clean. Some 220 km of roads are cleaned every day. This work is accompanied by the efforts of the Green Areas department (SEVE), which keeps the city’s parks clean, and of the Civil Engineering department which is responsible for maintaining the sewer system.

Sweeping and washing public areas

Teams comprising two employees are responsible for removing dirt and detritus from between the cars parked at the side of the road and pushing it towards their road-sweeping vehicle which disposes of this waste.

In addition to being swept, public areas are washed in order to eliminate dog dirt, pollen and dust generated by traffic.

Bin collection

Approximately 3,500 bins are installed around Geneva according to the presence of pedestrians. The bins are emptied by 7 teams comprising a driver, a worker and a specific vehicle.

A cleanliness plan to maintain an attractive and sustainable city

In 2022, the City of Geneva has published its first cleanliness plan with a view to addressing the new environmental and societal issues while ensuring greater involvement among citizens and private players.

• Find out more about the cleanliness plan

Collecting dog dirt

Every day, approximately 2 tonnes of dog dirt are produced by our four-legged friends. Some 600 bag distributors, referred to as “caninettes” and intended for collecting dog dirt, are installed in the city’s canine hot spots. As far as possible, these “caninettes” are installed above bins in order to encourage users to throw the bags into the bins once they have been used.

The “caninettes” are installed and repaired by a specialised worker and are restocked by the teams responsible for the different cleaning sectors.

• Find out more about the duties of dog owners with regard to dog dirt

Measures in the event of snow

During bad winter weather, the City of Geneva and all building owners take action to make public areas safe while protecting the environment.

• Find out more about measures in the event of snow

Inspection and maintenance of the sewers

Invisible but essential, the sewers represent a total of more than 280 kilometres of pipes in the City of Geneva. Waste water pipes are built and maintained by the City of Geneva and its Civil Engineering department.

• Find out more about the inspection and maintenance of the sewers