Helsinki allocates €4.5 million to remove graffiti and illegal posters

Helsinki will spend €4.5 million over the next five years to remove graffiti, stickers, and unauthorized advertisements from its streets, according to a report by Yle.

Though the budget is approved annually, the planned amount exceeds previous allocations for graffiti removal in the city. It also far surpasses spending by other major Finnish cities: Espoo, for example, budgets around €60,000 per year, while Tampere allocates roughly €130,000.

Cleanup crew members Marko Meriluoto and Egert Tilk, who remove graffiti and posters from Helsinki’s streets, explained in a Yle video that permanent marker graffiti is the hardest to erase, while paint is the easiest. Tags left for 25 years are nearly impossible to remove, they said.

The workers noted the satisfaction of seeing immediate results, though cleaned surfaces are often defaced again the next day.