The fact that the environmental sin only comes to light when the water is low doesn't make it any better: near Dormagen, there have been several old car tires and other scrap in the Rhine for years. Now at last there is an opportunity to remove some of the rubbish that is stuck deep in the mud. The energy company Westnetz has laid a temporary access road to remove some power poles, which makes it possible to drive to the dump with a front loader. In a joint action by volunteers around the Zonser environmentalists Norbert Grimbach and Joachim Fischer and the municipal environmental team, the eyesore should finally be removed. Last year alone, expenses of 13.000 euros were incurred in Dormagen for the removal of uncontrolled rubbish dumps.
Speed is of the essence, because if the level of the Rhine rises by just ten centimetres, the used tires will disappear under the surface of the water again. The rubbish dump is all the more annoying as the affected area is a nature reserve that is under special European protection and is of supra-regional ecological importance. Fish spawn there, swarms of shelducks and greylag geese use the spot as a resting place, cormorants, swans and even storks can also be observed there.
Source: rp-online.de
