One of my favorite things about Tübingen and Germany as a whole is the focus on environmentalism. The first thing that stuck out to me was the trash sorting system. We have to sort things into five categories here: Plastic, paper, organic, glass (which is further subdivided into white, brown and other colors of glass) and the rest of the trash. Each of these have their own bin and separate rules. Plastic goes in the yellow sack that you are given when you move into the city officially. Paper goes straight into the bin, not into a bag. Organic trash has it’s own special biodegradable bag that it goes in. Glass has special glass bins that are a ways away from the rest of the trash and you can only throw glass away from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays so you don’t disturb people with the noise.

This is all very complicated, but you really do get used to it. I like the trash sorting system, though I thought I would hate it, because it really made me think about my trash and I feel good knowing that things will actually be recycled. Another sign of a focus on environmentalism is that many of the busses and cars are electric. I think EVs are cheaper here because the government helps with the price. Also, there are incentives to buy solar panels for your house. Another thing is the sheer amount of trees and greenery. The trees provide shade when it’s warm, which is nice because there isn’t a lot of AC here, also for environmental reasons. There also isn’t a ton of heating because the buildings are made to keep in heat, a fact that makes them unbearable in the ever hotter summers. Anyway, the greenery is beautiful and makes walking outside desirable and even preferable to being cooped up in your house all day.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that there are a lot of things for bikes, from bike racks to bike lanes. The city is made to have lots of bikers, so that’s what you see. It means less cars on the road, so less pollution. All of these relatively small things add up a lot and have kept Tübingen quite beautiful. I really appreciate the emphasis on environmentalism and I know it will be jarring the lack of it when I return to the U.S. There are definitely people who care, but on a cultural level, Americans just don’t. Even in a progressive college town like Columbia, it’s just not a major concern. I don’t think all the policies Tübingen has implemented would work in Columbia (I would die without AC in August), but I think some would and the general attitude that prioritizes it would encourage us to come up with our own solutions that fit with our community. Germany is still always trying to do better with their environmentalism and their policies and politics are dynamic of course, but the emphasis on environmentalism seems to be something of a necessity in German culture. We have a lot to learn.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: Eberhard-Karls University