Having read this ....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/w...st/7118097.stm

I was wondering if sweeping leaves into the street is illegal in Switzerland. I bet it is.

On the contrary, I would think it would be positively encouraged here, more likely to get a fine for NOT sweeping your leaves.

Nick

& do those guys in the orange jackets out of a raison d'etre ?

More likely to get fined unless you can prove they are your leaves ..

The standard approach here is to get one of those blowy machines and then blow the leaves somewhere else - thus making it someone else's problem

There seems to be a mutual unwritten agreement amongst my neighbours that each is obliged to keep the collectively owned access street in front of their house free of leaves. The idea is that the leaves in their garden and their portion of the street are deposited in the green rubbish bin. However, I suspect that a lot of the neighbours leaves are ending up on the street adjacent to my house. As I haven't signed their unwritten agreement, I don't feel obliged to shift the leaves any further.

I see people sweeping leaves daily. Not just those employed to do it either. A man in our flats takes it upon himself to sweep up most mornings despite having a hauswarten who also does it.

actually (IIRC), on the street that runs by Krematorium Sihlfeld (from the tram stop up to Hubertus) in Zurich has funky underground disposal for leaves - the leaves get dropped into the container system in the ground there. Goodness knows what happens afterwards.

I say IIRC because I am sure I saw this many years ago...

It's definitely illegal to sweep leaves in Switzerland using a traditional broom - you MUST buy one of these blowers, powered by petrol and extremely loud and smelly.

Seriously, it still amazes me that these machines are not only tolerated but seen as necessary in a country where you are not allowed to make a noise over lunch or after 10 pm...

AFAIK only sweeping snow out onto the street and thus blocking traffic is illegal,but I think I MUST have one of them blower thingies,we got ONE tree here making a real mess with this leaves so I think this would be approriate measure

I kid you not, but apparently these blower thingies, well a bigger version, of it is now used by mountain farmers to blow the cut grass together,as it's much quicker and needs less effort than raking.

So you know what's roaring on the other side of the hilltop on your next hike into the Oberland

SF1 News from 26th November reports that inhabitants of the commune of Treiten in the Berner Oberland sweeps all its own leaves for one franc per year per square metre. "Ein Dorf putzt" http://www.sf.tv/sf1/schweizaktuell/...docid=20071126. The report is midway down this webpage.

So, far from it being illegal in Switzerland, it's positively encouraged and, in this case, there's big money to be had...

.

We have a daily battle of the blowers by our railway station. Two company caretaker guys blowing the leaves into each others car parks, never catching each others eye, never ackowledging the others existence. Bloody funny.

Goddamit I want one now....

Ahem, dear sandgrounder, the village is in the Seeland and not the Oberland big difference

with nitpickerly weekend greetings

EE

My 'umblest 'pologies. Geography was never my strong point...

so if im correct if i feel the urge to make noise legally on a sunday this is the ticket?

It sounds like it, but it may be a little too obvious March - July