Waste-Swallowing Sharks

In any city, downtown waste bins are a pain in the neck. People will throw anything into them while frequently missing the opening.

Pennants were thrown into the thrash following Germany's defeat
against France's soccer team in this year's European Championship.

Others place their still-glowing cigarettes into waste containers transforming them into hot grills. Then there are those penny-pinchers who carry their household waste for miles filling all public bins that were just emptied. Finally, waste containers are constantly vandalized, defaced with graffiti, and misused for advertising.

In Freiburg, starting in 2011, an action group fighting the abuse of public waste bins promoted the alliterated Tolle Tonne (fantastic waste bin) by inviting the pupils of the School for Young Artists to decorate Freiburg's waste bins practicing an - again alliterated - Kunst am Kübel (art on the bucket). The action led to spectacular results but, in the end, did not really help keep the surfaces of the containers free of glued papers.

Da lachen ja die Zebras (LOL) (©zFriburg i de Stadt)

Painted bees pasted over with advertising posters (©BZ/Thomas Kunz)

Therefore in 2016, the city bought 90 new waste bins from Switzerland - known for the quality and expensiveness of its goods - as a replacement for the actual containers paying 140 keuros. The new ones are made from stainless steel, their shiny metal surfaces are easy to clean, and they were dubbed Abfallhaie (waste-swallowing sharks).

Note the Bächle. Apparently, the garbage collectors are still learning,
 for the blue plastic trash bag is poorly placed inside the Abfallhai.

Red Baron happened to be in town when one of the new waste bins was being installed. Two men were there, one working and one being the boss. When I took a photo of the latter, he told me I was not allowed to take a picture. My argument that he is a person of public interest he did not accept. Anyway, here is the guy with his unwelcoming hand and his eyes covered by sunglasses; in other words, he is disguised.

The man of public interest.

The old waste bins will not end up in the waste but will be sandblasted, losing all their paintings, and reused in Freiburg's parks and greens.

Here is the so-called ultimate American waste container I found on Facebook. What is so spectacular about it?

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