Firstly, in March and April, a special machine was used to sift out the masks, handkerchiefs, cat and dog poo, bottles, coffee cups and other garbage that had been deposited on 53 playgrounds in the city in recent months. At the same time, the sand on the 7900 square meter area is loosened. Above all, this improves fall protection in case a child slips off the climbing frame and lands on the small grains. The oxygen supply also kills many germs that have settled in the sand.
The cleaning device used is efficient and therefore cost-saving, but it can only be used on larger areas. In a small sandpit, there is not enough space to circulate all the grains. For this reason, the sand on 40 playgrounds does not have to be sieved, but replaced on behalf of the responsible Stadtwerke green department from Stadtservice. This work has now been completed so that the areas on all the playgrounds are once again available for running around and playing.
A total of 91 cubic meters of sand was first removed for this purpose, after which 150 cubic meters of new sand was filled in across the city's facilities. The difference of around 60 tons is lost during play over the course of the year and is carried away in clothing, shoes, sand buckets and other cavities and containers.
The swings, seesaws and climbing frames in the playgrounds are regularly checked for safety by GBM Service GmbH, another municipal utilities group. Their employees also inform their colleagues from Stadtservice if there is not enough sand under any of the equipment or in a sandpit.