Overview

• Small sidewalk boxes marked "Zu verschenken" are appearing more often in Brandenburg’s cities, reflecting a reuse habit long familiar in Berlin where bulky-waste pickup typically incurs a fee.
• Potsdam classifies the boxes as illegal waste deposition on public land and says violations can draw fines, though the city reports two recent interventions without penalties.
• Officials in Potsdam say responsible individuals are often unidentifiable, so adjacent property owners are asked to remove boxes.
• Cottbus’s ordering authority largely tolerates the practice, deems it no administrative offense, notes few complaints, and says boxes usually disappear after a time.
• Frankfurt (Oder) reports no known cases in its responsible areas and thus no related problems.