The Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE) has joined the Circular Economy Platform and the Hungarian Bioeconomy Forum, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and green innovation.
The Circular Economy Platform, established by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Hungary, and the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH), aims to accelerate the country’s transition to a circular economy. By joining the initiative, MATE commits to active participation through professional collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the development of joint projects.
At the signing ceremony, MATE representatives highlighted ongoing efforts at the university to support circular practices, including the founding of the Circular Economy Analysis Centre, the appointment of institutional circular economy coordinators, and the launch of a waste management engineering programme in cooperation with the University of Miskolc.
In addition, MATE has implemented an on-campus biological waste processing system at its Gödöllő campus, operational since August 2023. With support from the KEHOP-3.2.1-15-2021-00037 project, the system enables the local conversion of biodegradable waste into certified compost using advanced technologies such as adaptive aeration and membrane covering. The university also conducts composting workshops and issues educational handbooks to support community engagement.
The institution plans to further expand its infrastructure in 2025 with the installation of a dry fermentation biogas reactor as part of the VP1-1.2.1-23 demonstration project.
With these developments, MATE becomes the first university globally to manage biodegradable campus waste in such an integrated manner—combining education, research, and demonstration to build a model for a biomass-based circular economy.
Source: MATE
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