Sustainability Is Contagious

One of those challenges takes place during the visit to the recycling center. Staff members are bringing out three laundry baskets full of odds and ends and ask the students to sort and dispose of the contents correctly. It quickly becomes clear that the catch-all term "waste" covers a wide range of very different materials. Rust protection paint, aluminum, and wine bottles are easy enough to identify. But what about the garden gnome? Things become even more complicated when plastics enter the picture. Carefully, the bootcamp participants examine the undersides of cartons and containers. Is it polyethylene, commonly used in shampoo bottles? Polypropylene, found in yogurt cups? Or polystyrene, often used in disposable cutlery and CD cases? Depending on the material, each item must be sorted into a different collection container.

While the group is still comparing recycling codes on the packaging, local residents squeeze past them with bags of waste. For many Straubing residents, this is part of everyday life. Unlike in many German cities, recyclable materials are not simply collected in curbside recycling cans but are brought directly to the recycling center for sorting.

But is all this effort really worthwhile? Isn't plastic just plastic in the end? Inka Hahn, doctoral researcher and research associate at Magnus Fröhling's Chair, disagrees: "Different types of plastics vary greatly in how effectively they can be recycled and kept in circulation. Some plastics can be recycled repeatedly at a high quality. Others can only be downcycled into lower-value products or eventually end up being incinerated."

After a while, the students become noticeably quicker at sorting the materials. They even look so knowledgeable that another visitor approaches them for advice. Holding an armful of plastic film in front of him, he asks: "Where do these go?" The group actually knows what to do and directs him to the right container.

A little later, the students are gathered around the kitchen table in their shared apartment. Their roommate Michelle has joined them as well. It quickly becomes clear that the group is not striving for perfection. Instead, they want to experiment with new ideas and encourage others to participate. They are active on Instagram, where they are documenting their challenges, such as dyeing Easter eggs with turmeric and red cabbage, experimenting with homemade bread, and making small changes to daily routines, like cleaning shoes regularly so they last longer. "People don't want every aspect of their lives controlled," says Kate. "But they do like learning new things in an entertaining way. That's why we try to lead by example rather than telling others how they should live their lives."

Many of the challenges revolve around solving problems collectively. During a cooking event, the students prepared various dishes using "rescued" fruits and vegetables provided by the "Foodsharing" initiative and shared the meal with their guests afterward. A shelf set up by the group in the student residence's bicycle storage area serves as an informal exchange spot for unwanted items. "When we installed it, things appeared and disappeared so quickly that I completely lost track of what was being offered," Kate says.

In some cases, the students were able to make use of initiatives that already exist in Straubing. "We organized a movie night at the student residence and borrowed a projector from a local library of things," Eva explains. "Now other residents are using the lending library as well." The group is visibly pleased that others have embraced the idea. Richard sees this as a social phenomenon: "People are strongly influenced by the people they interact with regularly." Their visit to the local repair café was equally memorable. The group spent two hours waiting in line with a broken hair dryer, surrounded mostly by older residents from Straubing. In the end, the hair dryer was saved: the problem turned out to be a faulty switch.

For Dr. Vanessa Heinrich, research associate at the Chair of Circular Economy and Sustainability Assessment, the large turnout at the repair café highlights a broader issue. Many items are discarded even though they could still be repaired. "This is especially true for items small enough to be thrown away in household waste, including electronic devices. A tremendous amount of valuable resources is lost in this area. For rare earth elements, recycling rates remain below one percent." On average, smartphones in Germany are replaced after just two and a half years. Extending their lifespan to five to seven years could reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with smartphones by roughly half. Inspired by the repair café, Max later replaced his own smartphone battery instead of buying a new device.

After months of experimenting with new habits, borrowing instead of buying, and repairing broken items, what is the students' takeaway? For Michelle, the answer is simple: "Before joining the project, I hadn't really engaged with sustainability, so I was a little intimidated by the idea. In Mexico, where I'm from, it's completely normal to be given plastic bags when shopping. Today, I'd say that most sustainable habits are much easier to fit into everyday life than I expected."

Magnus Fröhling also advocates approaching sustainability with less hesitation: "Many people assume that living more sustainably comes with disadvantages. In reality, there are many ways to live more sustainably without sacrificing quality of life, even if some changes require an initial adjustment. Our next step is to investigate whether this concept can be developed into a permanent teaching format and how it affects students' knowledge, competencies, motivation, and sustainable behavior. Selected students, known as 'Circularity Scouts,' will help share these insights with their fellow students."