Sri Lanka
 „We kehr for you“

From Waste to Energy
© Goethe-Institut e.V.

Environmental protection starts in your mind. In an unprecedented campaign, the Berlin waste management department managed to convince citizens how to dispose of their waste properly. René Heymann, who came up with the idea for the campaign, explained to guests from Sri Lanka how to make the idea a success.

  • René Heymann, founder of the campaign “We kehr for You” © Goethe-Institut Besucherprogramm
    “The Berlin waste management department’s advertising campaign cannot be exported 1:1. But most appeals to dispose of waste properly do not work because they take a schoolmasterly approach. The aim should be to win over citizens as the friends of the waste management department, thereby raising an awareness that waste belongs in the bin.”
    René Heymann, CEO of the advertising agency HEYMANN BRANDT DE GELMINI, which came up with the idea for the successful advertising campaign for the Berlin waste management department (BSR).
  • Suduweli Kondage Anjalie Priyangika Devaraja and René Heymann © Goethe-Institut Besucherprogramm
    “At home in Sri Lanka, the municipal waste management service is organised by private and public undertakings. We have had some success in the past through tightening regulations. But this campaign for the BSR has given me many new ideas – I like the way in which wit and humour are used to educate people to keep their city clean.”
    Suduweli Kondage Anjalie Priyangika Devaraja, Director Engineering der Stadtverwaltung, zuständig für die Stadtreinigung und Müllentsorgung in Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • All together © Goethe-Institut Besucherprogramm
    “It is not enough to simply use the law to threaten people. In Sri Lanka, we have a huge waste problem, and the local waste disposal companies cannot manage it by themselves. The people have to help. Through advertising like this, we can win them over gently to dispose of their rubbish properly and not just to throw it anywhere”.
    Nalin Rohana Chandrakumara Mannapperuma, Sri Lanka (right)
  • Mr. Malalasooriyage Waruna Randeewa Malalasooriya and René Heymann © Goethe-Institut Besucherprogramm
    “We are taking back a great deal from this tour. Germany is 20 years ahead of us – with regard to the disposal and reuse of waste. And you have made mistakes, such as setting up large landfill sites, from which we can learn. We can now try to get it right from the start.”
    Mr. Malalasooriyage Waruna Randeewa Malalasooriya, General Manager Holcim, Sri Lanka