Voting with a cigarette butt? On the Haarentor campus, smokers can now use so-called ‘Ballot Bins’ – bright yellow ashtrays that regularly provide students with questions, some more serious than others, to ‘smoke away’.
Until now, ashtrays had been tucked away somewhat sheepishly in a corner. But since the start of April, they’ve been taking centre stage on the Haarentor campus of the University of Oldenburg: a group of students has had so-called ‘Ballot Bins’ installed in prominent locations in front of the canteen building and the lecture theatre complex. The bright yellow, oversized ashtrays are mounted on lampposts along the main walkways.
But it is not just their high visibility that is intended to help ensure fewer cigarette ends end up on the ground in future. The ‘Ballot Bins’ also serve as a barometer of public opinion, encouraging people to get involved. They consist of two separate compartments – each representing a possible answer and featuring its own slot for voting with a cigarette butt. The current state of the vote is visible at a glance, as the front of the bins is transparent.
The 8 o’clock lecture – an April Fool’s joke?
Just in time for the start of the summer semester, students Maria Pinsker, Julia Laux, Maren Harberts, Maximilian Fröhlich, Marina Kemper and Nele Feldkamp have added a new poll to the Ballot Bin on the Mensavorplatz: “New Year’s resolution for the start of term: 8 am lecture” is written in the top text box. Just one hour after the poll was posted, it’s already clear what Oldenburg’s students think of it: option 2, “It’s probably an April Fool’s joke”, is well ahead.
“We think the bins will help ensure there are fewer cigarette ends lying around on the campus in future,” says Pinsker. She is studying for a Master’s degree in Sustainable Economics and Management and has been an active ‘plogger’ for over a year – that is, she collects litter she finds on her regular jogging routes. “My friends and I have noticed just how many cigarette ends are carelessly thrown on the ground,” says Pinsker. According to her research, the filters are made of plastic and contain toxic substances such as lead, cadmium and arsenic, which ultimately accumulate in the soil, groundwater and the food chain.
Financing from the Presidential Board
A report in the news magazine *Spiegel* drew Pinsker and her friends’ attention to the ‘Ballot Bins’, which are already widely used in the UK, Luxembourg and Norway. The group of friends presented the idea to the university’s Presidential Board – with success. The university management provided the financing for the first two bins, which were installed during the March break under the supervision of Sabine Düser from the university’s building management team. More are set to be installed on the Wechloy campus soon. The building management team is responsible for cleaning them, and the student network sneep e.V. is also supporting the project.
In the coming weeks, Oldenburg students will be able to vote on such fundamental questions as: Veggie or Classic? Poly or Convertible? Werder or HSV? The results can be followed on Instagram . The Ballot Bins team welcomes further creative voting questions at .
