Suche
Mein Konto
Declare war on junk bikes: Hamburg is cleaning up!
On June 16, 2025, Hamburg city cleaning will start a campaign to remove scrap bikes in several districts to improve traffic safety.
Declare war on junk bikes: Hamburg is cleaning up!
On June 17, 2025, it's that time again: Hamburg City Cleaning (SRH) has started the annual campaign to remove bicycles that are ready for scrap. In the coming weeks, an estimated 4,000 old two-wheelers will be removed from public spaces in Hamburg in order to improve traffic safety and create a clean cityscape. Collecting is particularly strong in the districts of Altona, Eimsbüttel, Hamburg-Mitte and Wandsbek MOPO reported.
The focus of the campaign is bicycles that have been in one place for a long time and are no longer used. These will come with a red sticker asking owners to remove their bike within 14 days. If you don't react, you have to expect that the city cleaning service will be able to break the locks in order to dispose of the bike. Bicycles that pose an immediate threat to public safety are even scrapped within 24 hours. To counteract this problem, the SRH and the district offices work closely together.
A good hand for the environment
The motto of this year's campaign is, “Scrap out – parking spaces in”. This is intended to create additional space for new storage options. The appearance of Environment Senator Katharina Fegebank and Dr. Bettina Schomburg, the district manager of Hamburg-Nord, illustrates the city's serious efforts to improve the public image of Hamburg and at the same time increase the safety of cyclists. “Old bicycles block parking spaces and are a nuisance for cyclists,” explains Jens Kerstan, Senator for the Environment. He emphasizes the importance of keeping public spaces free of junk so that they remain attractive.
However, those whose bikes are no longer ready to ride can breathe a sigh of relief: repairable bikes are repaired and resold through the “Stilbruch” used goods department store. More than 1,000 such bicycles find a new owner every year. “Whatever can no longer be repaired is recycled sensibly,” explains Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Siechau, Managing Director of the SRH. Not only is this environmentally friendly, but it also allows every part of the bike to be reused.
How to help
Citizens can actively contribute to cleanliness by reporting junk bikes via the SRH app, which is available for free on both the App Store and Play Store. The police have even marked scrap bikes on the Reeperbahn, while the district office is taking action in the side streets. The support of the population is urgently needed here, as every bicycle that is no longer used blocks important parking spaces.
Overall, the campaign is an example of a joint effort to increase the quality of life in Hamburg while protecting the environment. As the City cleaning clarifies, it is not just a matter of removing scrap, but also a strategy to make the city livable and safe. And that's a goal we can all agree on!
The next clearance operations are planned for June 20, 2023 in Eimsbüttel and July 3, 2023 in Wandsbek and Altona. It remains to be seen how many bikes ultimately find their way into the workshops or are sustainably recycled.