Protect our city: put a stop to waste!

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The Road Cleaning Department collects almost 5,000 tonnes of waste in the streets every year representing some 13 tonnes per day, a third of which is simply thrown away on the ground. On a day-to-day basis, more than 3,000 dustbins and almost 140 ecopoints are available to the public. In summer, there are an additional fifty ecopoints while the capacity in terms of containers (800 litres) and drums (200 litres) is doubled. This represents a budget of about 30 million francs allocated every year to keeping the City of Geneva clean, totalling almost 150 francs per year per inhabitant.

Two street-marketing installations

This new awareness campaign is designed to make an impression on people and involves two street-marketing installations by the lakeside: the word “STOP” in giant lettering written on the beach in les Eaux-Vives and giant examples of waste on Quai Wilson along the northern shore.

A poster campaign and posts on the social networks complete the measures taken. Actions are also scheduled at the two sites, during which the public can obtain a towel or a pocket ashtray by answering a question about waste. This offer is valid while stocks last. Furthermore, the Interest Group Clean Environment (IGSU) will play its part through the presence of ambassadors in the municipality at the end of June and the end of August who will inform the public about the correct means of disposing of waste and which materials are recyclable.

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The municipal police, with the support of the Road Cleaning Incivility Management Unit, will also increase its patrols and make punishments more severe. Repression will therefore accompany awareness.

“Every effort is being made by the municipality to keep the city clean, and we would also ask the public to be more responsible and to adopt a more respectful attitude,” says Marie Barbey-Chapuis, the magistrate responsible for the Department of Sport and Security.