Pretending to be Green - Comments on Recycling Issues on the CEU Campus

Recycling as an obsession

Let me make this clear first – I am German. I want to get this out of the way before you make the inevitable comments about the Germans complaining on recycling issues. It is a stereotype, of course, but it does not change the fact that recycling in Hungary currently “challenging” at best. As a German I of course realized that I am spoiled rotten in this regard because recycling back home is being made as easy as can be. Once the trash was separated all I had to do was walk down the stairs to the backyard and dispose of my trash bags in one of the six readily available containers for paper, plastics, organic materials, glass, anything else and a mysterious bin where you can leave stuff that is still useful but you no longer want.

Searching for a bin

I have lived abroad before, so I was prepared that Hungary might not offer the same easy options I knew from home. However, I have the impression the Hungarian really does not want me to recycle. I know that there might be more urgent issues but putting up a few recycling stations around the city feels more like a sloppy “get it over with” than a real “we did everything we could”. When I am at the CEU campus I can see that we are at least trying to be a little bit more sustainable. I made the effort and checked the university’s website and indeed, we do have a Sustainability Advisory Committee and there are a few recycling islands around the Nador Utca buildings. Soon, there will be more recycling bins installed in the Faculty Tower and hopefully, we will see better options implemented in the renovated campus. Yet, the overall situation still blows.

Creating a greener campus?

 If you pass any of the class rooms at the end of a day, you get the impression that most of the trash around CEU could simply be avoided. While someone else may talk about how uneconomical it is to pay for bottled water when we get clean water for free at the water fountains, I wonder why so many of us use single use coffee cups? Most departments have their own kitchens that are accessible for their respective students. Why not store your own coffee mug in the cabinets or your locker? Some campus coffee machines have the option to use your own cup while DZSEM@CEU will even decrease the price of your coffee if you bring your own mug. 

All in all, I just want to see us do better because I know it is possible. We do use recycled paper to print, and most of the time we do it on both pages. Just the same, people are raising the issue of dripping water faucets (see Facebook “CEU Incoming Students” Group) and I see people who run around with their own coffee mug or Nalgene bottle instead of creating more waste. In my opinion those are the first steps we need to take. It may start small on campus, but we can take those efforts here in Hungary as well as back home, wherever you are from.

More Information:

The website of the CEU’s Sustainability Advisory Committee provides the “CEU Sustainability Report 2012”: https://www.ceu.hu/about/organization/governance/committees/sustainability-advisory-committee

Looking for a recycling place near you? Check out the municipality’s website: http://www.fkf.hu/portal/page/portal/fkf/Google_terkep

Julia Michalsky

Department of History

Germany