The potent food was dumped in the dead of night at a parking lot next to community allotments in Skärholmen, around 15 kilometres south of Stockholm.
Local council officials in charge of clearing the area told Swedish media this week that they had made the find last Thursday and had decided to talk to journalists as part of efforts to tackle flytipping in the area.
They said that 8-900 kilograms of the pickled cabbage had been discovered, following initial speculation that the barrels were full of dangerous chemicals. According to park maintenance staff, it remains a mystery who left the waste.
“We usually examine what we will find, but there are almost never any clues,” Kent Karlsson, a spokesperson for the town's park maintenance team told newspaper mitti.se
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Multiple newspapers and social media commentators have joked that the sauerkraut was perhaps a byproduct of a badly organized Oktoberfest (a celebration of Bavarian culture that takes place around the world at this time of year).
But Karlsson said that it was part of a serious problem that was preventing staff from other carrying out other important roles such as clearing bushes and trees, mowing grass and emptying bins.
He estimated that clearing away dumped rubbish had cost Swedish taxpayers up to 100,000 kronor ($12,292) since the start of the summer.
Mammad Shahbazi, who has an allotment in the area, told mitti.se: “It is not the first time. They usually come at night and leave. They think only of themselves and not those who have to clean up.”
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