The BERclean Story

I moved to Berlin recently. Despite the difficulty of finding an apartment in Berlin, I still managed to find one within walking distance (17 minutes) of my workplace. However, I could not fully enjoy this walk because there was trash lying around everywhere. To be clear: the problem was not just the amount of trash; the nature of trash indicated a profound lack of responsibility and respect on the part of whose who left it, which I found disappointing. This was compounded by the observation that many people in a metropolis live rather passively–something I try to avoid. Both factors combined motivated me to ordering a trash pickup tool so I could collect trash on my daily commute. Doing this increases my walking time from 17 minutes to 20 minutes. Here are some of my findings:

Wednesday 15 April 2026

Thursday 16 April 2026

Friday 17 April 2026

Monday 20 April 2026

Tuesday 21 April 2026

Wait, WHAT?

I followed my usual morning commute routine, left the trash picker in front of the building, and went up to my office. The trash picker was hidden at the position shown in the following videoclip:

After work, I went to retrieve it from where I left it–but, surprise–it had disappeared. I went to the receptionist of the building and asked about my trash picker. After a couple of suppressed smiles, I was informed that an ‘person in charge of the building’ had instructed a different ‘person responsible for maintaining the building’ to remove my trash picker. Since the receptionist only knew that it had been removed, but not where it was, they suggested writing an email so that I can pick it up the next day after work. So we did.

Wednesday 22 April 2026

Thursday 23 April 2026

Monday 27 April 2026

Okay, AGAIN?!

Since the previous location where I had left my trash picker during office times was apparently not acceptable, I found a different spot where it would not be visible.

Unfortunately, it had disappeared again. This time, however, I was able to retrieve it immediately from the receptionist–along with a message from the ‘person responsible for maintaining the building’ that this was the second occurrence and that I would not get it back a third time. Big sad.

Next morning, I went straight to the receptionist and asked to speak both ‘persons in charge of the building’ to find a solution for this problem–and we succeeded. The solution is as follows: when I arrive in the morning, I can dispose the trash bag in the courtyard container, which I can access with my keycard. Then, I take the trash picker with me to my office. This solution has a very positive side effect: Now I am collecting two trash bags every day, one on my way to work and another on the way home.