Hefty penalties

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Even tougher action will soon be taken against litter offenders in Wels.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

The city of Wels: a crackdown on illegal waste planned. Mayor Andreas Rabl even goes one step further and says: "The red card doesn't help". Will the "offenders" even be caught on video in future?

Plastic, metal, glass, diapers, building rubble or cigarette buttsThere seems to be nothing that doesn't end up in the compost bin. And so "repeat offenders" could even have their organic waste garbage cans confiscated. Wels city councillor Thomas Rammerstorfer (Greens) is pushing ahead with this proposal. A plan that is not enough for many. "In the last two years, we have had a total of 1642 checks and caught 90 litter offenders. This resulted in reports to the district administration, and the authorities have to check the value," says Deputy Mayor Gerhard Kroiß (FPÖ). His city boss goes even further.

"One blames the other"
"People are throwing everything in. The red card alone doesn't help much," says Andreas Rabl. In single-family homes, the "culprits" are easy to track down. "But with apartment buildings, one person blames the other," says Rabl, who can even see the merits of increased surveillance.

In the last two years, we have had a total of 1642 checks and caught 90 litter offenders. This was followed by reports to the district administration.

Gerhard Kroiß, Vizebürgermeister aus Wels

"There is hardly any littering here"
The red card has been in place in Laakirchen since 2019. "We have three to four penalties every month. And things have improved. There are hardly any misses any more," says Mayor Fritz Feichtinger (SPÖ), who is on the right track. As a final consequence, the organic waste garbage can is no longer emptied. "This will make it significantly more expensive," says Feichtinger. Sabine Promberger (SPÖ), head of Ebensee, confirms. "We also have a red card. We don't take the organic waste garbage can away from litterers, but we do charge extra for improper disposal."