CommunityFrankfurtClean up a square with friends and make it feel in FrankfurtClean up a square with friends and make it feel in Frankfurt Frankfurt has a small public square near almost every home: a market corner in Höchst, a quiet Platz in Nordend, a bench area in Ostend, a spot in Bockenheim or Westend. Most just need people to show up. Gather a few friends, spend an hour picking up litter together, then stay a while and enjoy the place you just cleaned. That is the whole idea, and it works because you repeat it. What you can do - Pick a square near where you live. Browse Wikimedia Commons: Squares in Frankfurt am Main for names and photos, or explore a district first on Visit Frankfurt: Frankfurter Stadtviertel (Bockenheim and Westend, the Brückenviertel in Sachsenhausen, Höchst's old town, Nordend and Bornheim, or Ostend along the Main). Well-known squares like Opernplatz, Konstablerwache, or Höchster Markt work too, but any square near you is just as good a start. - Message two to six friends who live close by and agree on a time. A Saturday morning works well. - Sign up once as a Sauberkeitspatin or Sauberkeitspate on the FES page Bürgerinnen und Bürger helfen mit. You choose the square or street, FES gives you grabbers, gloves, and bags and keeps restocking them, and you get one fixed contact person for questions. You clear small litter yourself and report anything larger, like dumped furniture, by phone or email. - Or plan a one-time group clean-up through FES Bürger-Sammeltage. Pick an upcoming date, such as the Main Cleanup on 12 September 2026 or World Cleanup Day on 20 September 2026. FES supplies the equipment and collects the waste afterward. For parks, playgrounds, or the city forest, contact the Grünflächenamt first (gruenflaechenamt@stadt-frankfurt.de), as the FES page explains. - Or join the citywide Frankfurt Cleanup weekend, run together by cleanffm and FES Frankfurt. The last edition, in March 2026, brought together more than 7,000 people across around 200 pickup points. The next one is set for 12 and 13 March 2027; registration opens closer to the date. - Add a reuse table once the litter is gone, the way Klimaschutz-Initiative Riedberg does it: lay out tools, toys, and household items nobody needs anymore so a neighbour can take them home instead of them being thrown away. - Finish by staying. Bring coffee, sit on a bench, talk to whoever passes by. That last part is what turns a cleaned square into a square people actually want to be in. How it works The Sauberkeitspate programme has run since 2000 and keeps adding people: 416 patrons by 2022, 476 by 2023, plus schools and kindergartens that care for an area as a group. You decide how large your patch is and how often you show up; there is no minimum. Bürger-Sammeltage work the same way for a single day: register, pick up gloves and bags at a collection point, clean, and FES takes the waste away afterward. Frankfurt Cleanup scales that same pattern to one weekend a year, city-wide. None of this changes who owns the square. It stays public land; you are simply the person, or group of friends, who looks after a small part of it. Why it matters Showing up for the same square more than once turns strangers into people you recognise and greet. It is a low-effort way to meet neighbours, and there is no guilt attached: you are not fixing a crisis, you are just making one place a little nicer to be in. A handful of small groups doing this across Frankfurt adds up to a city where public squares get used and looked after instead of avoided.cleanupplazaneighbourhood +2
SupportRepair & ReuseMunichHofflohmärkte, neighbourhood courtyard flea market in MunichHofflohmärkte, neighbourhood courtyard flea market in Munich Hofflohmärkte is a Germany-wide reuse programme: residents register a private courtyard, garden, or garage and sell pre-loved goods while neighbours follow a linked tour plan through the district in Munich. The platform runs in 30+ cities and 300+ neighbourhoods; initiator René Götz operates registration, participants organise their own courtyards. What you can do - Download the tour plan PDF for your Viertel (published about one week before each market day) - Walk the linked addresses and buy second-hand treasures from neighbours - Register your own Hof if you have landlord approval and goods to pass on How it works - Sales stay on private ground only, not sidewalks or public space - Typical hours: Saturdays 10–16, Sundays 11–16 (Munich also runs selected Friday evenings with M-net sponsorship) - No food sales; private sellers only, professional dealers are not welcome - Registration closes three weeks before each date for tour-plan marking; late sign-ups are accepted but may not appear on the map - Organisers may cancel a date if fewer than 30 courtyards register, fees are then refunded About Hofflohmärkte Neighbours register a private Hof, Garten, or Garage on Hofflohmärkte and sell used goods on scheduled Viertel days. Registered addresses appear on a tour plan published about one week before each date. Sales happen on private ground only. See city pages for local schedules and Spielregeln & Tipps for seller rules. Why it matters Every item re-homed from a courtyard is one less thing bought new or landfilled, and a chance to meet the people who live behind the front doors.flea marketreuseneighbourhood +2
FundraiseRepair & ReuseFrankfurtNeighbourhood free store (Umsonstladen) in FrankfurtNeighbourhood free store (Umsonstladen) in Frankfurt Die Teilerei runs a solidarity free store in Frankfurt Niederrad: drop off clean things you no longer need, browse what neighbours shared, no price tags. What you can do - Visit during open hours to give or take clothes, housewares, books, and everyday goods - Volunteer after an onboarding session: email kontakt@teilerei-ffm.de, reach out on Instagram, or ask staff in store - Use the in-store Taschenstation so visitors without a bag can skip disposables - Support running costs via betterplace.org if you want to chip in financially How it works The collective is self-organised, solidarity-based, and resource-conscious. Newcomers meet the team at onboarding dates, then choose shifts in the shop, events, or neighbourhood outreach. Why it matters Goods stay in the neighbourhood instead of incineration, and every visit builds mutual trust on the block.umsonstladenfree-storesharing +4
Repair & ReuseFrankfurtReusable cup & takeaway box network in FrankfurtReusable cup & takeaway box network in Frankfurt Map cafés and kiosks that lend reusable cups and takeaway boxes along the river and main streets, one returnable cup beats a mountain of single-use in Frankfurt. What you can do - Use #MainMehrweg and #MainBecher to find participating venues - Return cups to any partner point, not only where you borrowed - Encourage local businesses to join the pool if they are not listed yet Why it matters Reuse systems only work when enough people return, neighbourhood champions keep the loop spinning.reusecircularlocal
Join inCommunityFrankfurtRiedberg reuse & neighborhood clean-up in FrankfurtRiedberg reuse & neighborhood clean-up in Frankfurt Bundle a Saturday clean-up with a reuse corner, tools, toys, and housewares get a second stop before anything is discarded in Frankfurt. What you can do - Join actions via Klimaschutz-Initiative Riedberg - Coordinate with cleanffm for gloves, bags, and sorting guides - Invite your housing cooperative to host the reuse table after the walk Why it matters Cleaning up together builds pride in shared space, and reuse tables prove that “rubbish” often still has a neighbour who needs it.cleanupreuselocal
Repair & ReuseHøje-TaastrupUse circular demolition rules in TaastrupUse circular demolition rules in Taastrup In Taastrup, circular demolition rules were written so the old city hall would not be smashed by default. The 1980 hall at Bygaden 2 is being kept and turned into homes. That saves more than sorting rubble. What you can do in Taastrup - Walk by Bygaden 2 and see the hall that stayed up (Høje-Taastrup on the old hall) - Ask your council to require a resource map before it sells a building for demolition - Ask for at least 80 percent by weight of clean materials to be reused, recycled, or recovered if a part must come off - Look at the new city hall, which was built with a recycled concrete foundation (CityLoops handbook) - If you pay for a demolition in Denmark, set a reuse aim with the Værdibyg guide before the tender (Værdibyg booklet) How to join The municipality sold the old hall to IKANO with circular conditions. A pre-demolition audit had to map harmful materials and parts worth keeping. Selective demolition applied to parts that could not be used in place. The later plan keeps the hall, about 17,000 square metres, and turns it into about 200 homes, with about 130 townhouses around it. The old heat plant on the grounds is planned as a neighbourhood house of about 200 square metres. The grounds are about 100,000 square metres. Staff left in February 2023 for a new hall at Rådhusstræde 1. This is not an open-house tour. You can see the building from the street. Why it matters in Taastrup Keeping the hall avoids about 20,000 tonnes of new raw material and about 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with knocking it down, according to the CityLoops account. A resident in Copenhagen can reach Høje-Taastrup by suburban rail and see a real case of "do not demolish if the building can still work". Find more community projects in Høje-Taastrup. Good to know - What if some parts still come off? The updated rules still ask for selective demolition of those parts, and they count a structure that stays standing as fully kept in use. - Where is the new hall? It is at Rådhusstræde 1. The photo shows that tower. The old hall is at Bygaden 2.demolitionreusecity-hall +2
CommunityCologneGreener carnival: sustainable Veedelszüge in CologneGreener carnival: sustainable Veedelszüge in Cologne The AG Nachhaltige Veedelzüge brings together BKB Verlag, Cradle to Cradle NGO Köln, Scientists for Future Köln/Bonn, and Zero Waste Köln. The aim: carnival tradition that respects materials: costumes, floats, Kamelle: without preaching from the sidelines. What the AG offers - Growing guide “Zoch ohne Driss” with tips for costumes, throws, and parade logistics. - A shared database of ideas and field reports (filter “Idee Karneval”): submit your best practice with photo rights. - Second-hand costume markets and swaps across Cologne in January/February (dates on their page). - Mini booklet giveaway “Pänz feiern Jeck - ganz ohne Dreck” for participating parades. Get involved Ideas, photos, and questions: AG-Nachhaltige-Veedelszuege@posteo.de Why it matters Karneval draws huge crowds; lighter throws and reused costumes cut parade-day waste without dampening the festivity.carnivalreuseadvocacy
Repair & ReuseLeipzigAllerlei to go: reusable takeaway in LeipzigMehrweg statt Einweg beim Mitnehmen When hunger strikes on the go, single-use cups and boxes still dominate: yet one reusable cup can replace hundreds of disposables over its lifetime. Since January 2023, food businesses in Germany must fill customer-owned containers; larger venues often run deposit return systems. What the project does - Together with BUND Leipzig, Stadtreinigung supports cafés and food shops in the city centre, Georg-Schumann-Straße, and Mockau to set up reusable systems. - Customer awareness campaigns and a prize scheme highlight standout Mehrweg pilots. - Builds on Leipzig’s Zero-Waste strategy and the federal “Zukunftsfähige Innenstädte” programme. How you can act today - Bring a thermos mug and lunch box; ask venues to fill them. - Choose partners that display Mehrweg options; nominate engaged businesses for recognition. Why it matters Reusable takeaway cuts single-use mountains in busy shopping streets, one cup can replace hundreds of disposables.reusefoodlocal
Repair & ReuseKielChoose Mehrweg for food and drinks to goReusable containers beat single-use minutes Since January 2023, German law requires reusable options for takeaway food and drinks. Kiel’s Kiel geht Mehrweg campaign highlights cafés, canteens, and events that lend returnable cups and boxes. The city’s Kaffee geht Mehrweg deposit-cup network started in 2019 with more than 100 outlets. How to participate - Ask for a Mehrweg container at the counter; return it washed so it can loop again. - Bring your own cup or lunch box when a venue has no deposit system yet. - On public land, events must serve food and drinks in reusable packaging under the updated ABK waste bylaw. - For large gatherings, hire Die Spülbar Kiel for on-site dishwashing and pooled tableware. Why it matters Kiel uses roughly 22,000 disposable cups per day. Reuse cuts landfill and litter while keeping takeaway affordable when deposit systems are free for customers.reusefoodlocal
Repair & ReuseKielTry cloth nappies: a proven Kiel pilot patternSauber gewickelt: weniger Restabfall A child uses roughly 6,000 disposable nappies before potty training, about one tonne of waste. From 2022-2024 Kiel subsidised cloth nappy starter kits (up to €200); 496 households joined and saved an estimated 80 tonnes of residual waste per year. Why it matters The Kiel pilot showed hundreds of families can divert tonnes of nappy waste when cloth is affordable and supported.familyreuseadvocacy
Repair & ReuseKielPack Kita wet clothes in WechselbüddelWashable bags beat single-use plastic After a pilot, Kiel equipped about 55 Kitas with Wechselbüddel: waterproof, washable bags for muddy or wet children’s clothes instead of disposable plastic sacks. What you can do - Ask your Kita whether Wechselbüddel are in use; wash and return bags the same day when possible. - Replicate the pattern at home for swimming or forest days. Why it matters Daily Kita handovers add up; a durable bag removes thousands of plastic sacks per year across the city. Wechselbüddelchildcarereusefamily
Repair & ReuseKielDonate good furniture through ABK to Echt-GutSofas and tables get a second home ABK Kiel and Stadtmission Kiel restarted furniture handovers: register usable pieces on the ABK site, pass inspection, and Echt-Gut-Kaufhaus collects them for resale and social programmes. What you can do - Photograph and register furniture that is clean, complete, and fire-safe before leaving it on the street. - Shop second-hand at Echt-Gut when you need a table or chair instead of ordering new flat-pack. Why it matters Bulky goods clog bulky-waste routes; matched donations keep timber and upholstery in use locally.furnituredonatereuse
