Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – The North Rhine-Westphalia City Council welcomes a voluntary waiver of New Year’s Eve fireworks by revelers, but is against a general ban on rockets and firecrackers. “The past two years have shown that the turn of the year is also possible without fireworks,” said Managing Director Helmut Dedy of the dpa. There are good reasons for this: less noise and particulate matter, more peace and quiet for animals and residents, fewer accidents and less waste. “That’s why we’re happy when more people decide to do without New Year’s Eve rockets and firecrackers for the sake of the environment. But we can’t and don’t want to dictate that,” emphasizes the association representative. For many people, rockets and New Year’s firecrackers were part of the New Year celebrations.
Because of the pandemic, there have been sales and assembly bans in recent years, Dedy explained. The aim was to contain the risk of infection at the peak of the pandemic. In addition, emergencies caused by improper firing of fireworks should be avoided in order not to put additional strain on hospitals beyond Corona. “We are currently not expecting that there will be restrictions on the sale and lighting of fireworks again in December,” said the managing director of the NRW city association. But that depends on the further course of the pandemic, he added.
A general ban on New Year’s Eve fireworks is not necessary from the point of view of the cities. It would also only be possible to enforce it with great effort. Local bans on fireworks are possible. Cities have been using it for years. For example, to protect residents in narrow inner-city areas from noise and historic buildings from fire hazards. “The existing rules have proven their worth and are accepted by the population. That’s why there will be streets and neighborhoods in many cities this year where it’s forbidden to set off fireworks,” Dedy said. Fireworks would also have no place on party miles, where a particularly large number of people cavort at the turn of the year.
However, the German Association of Cities has suggested that the federal government should anchor animal and nature conservation more firmly in the Explosives Ordinance. Animal parks, animal shelters as well as nature and landscape protection areas belong in the catalog of places near which pyrotechnics may not be burned, the association representative demanded.
A few days ago, the German Environmental Aid (DUH) again called for an end to the “archaic New Year’s firecrackers” from the federal government. A few changes to the Explosives Ordinance could quickly put an end to environmentally harmful fireworks. Municipalities could also ensure a colorful turn of the year with creative light and laser shows or even a drone show, without any deafening noise and harmful fine dust, explained the federal manager of the German Environmental Aid, Jürgen Resch.
