Sand on municipal playgrounds is replaced or cleaned
27.03.2025 – Sand is a very popular building material, even in urban playgrounds. Not only is the sand compacted when digging, tamping down castle walls or protective ramparts, but the odd sweet wrapper, sand mold or other item also disappears between the tiny grains. And the mass itself is also becoming less and less, because a little of it is taken along in every fold of clothing, on the bottom of the play bucket and in the tread of the children's shoes. This is why Stadtwerke Offenbach's Stadtservice has the sand on the city's playgrounds replaced, supplemented or cleaned in spring.
Cleaning is more sustainable and cheaper
The priority is to clean the sand on the playgrounds - this is the most sustainable and cheapest way. To do this, a contracted company plows through the sand with a machine, throws it into a funnel and sifts it out again. What is thrown out is clean, well aerated and loose. The loose texture is particularly important under the play equipment: a fall on freshly thrown up sand is less hard than on compacted mass, and the aeration also keeps many pathogens away. What gets caught in the sieve of the sand cleaning machine ranges from leaves, toys and waste to cat excrement and even pieces of money.
This year, a total of almost 9000 square meters of play area will be cleaned to a depth of around 40 centimetres.
Sand is exchanged on small pitches
Not every sand area is suitable for mechanical cleaning. A minimum area size is required to be able to plow through the sand efficiently. The sand is therefore replaced on small areas. The municipal utilities always order more supplies than they have removed in order to compensate for the loss during a playing season. This year, around 110 cubic meters of sand will be removed and 115 cubic meters of new sand have been ordered.
The cleaning and replacement of the sand on all municipal playgrounds should be completed by around mid-April. The playground equipment there is regularly checked for safety by the municipal utilities subsidiary GBM Service GmbH.