New and exciting waste initiatives

Just a quick update for you on the new and exciting waste initiatives happening within the University.
On Tuesday 30 April, the Facilities Team will be round and about in the offices on Campus promoting the way we should be disposing of our waste. This will include us talking to you and leaving information which explains which waste streams go where.

We will continue the waste campaign throughout the week with a stand in the Atrium on Thursday 2 May which will provide you with all you need to know about our waste and where it should go and where it goes once it leaves Campus. Our waste contractor Suez will also be joining us on the stand in supporting the University in its waste reduction.

Over the next few weeks we hope to introduce two new waste streams into the University – Paper, cards, magazines, books and journals and then chewing gum!!!

New waste stream for paper, card, books, journals, newspapers and magazines – Offices

As you know your current waste from the list above goes into the Dry Mixed Recycling side of the bin (the green side!), this often proves difficult with the bins becoming full very quickly and the cleaning team often struggling with the weights of the bags – we have a solution! We will be introducing small blue waste paper bins into the offices, this will allow you to dispose of your paper items easily and quickly whilst in the office – these bins can then be emptied by the office team into a 240L wheelie bin (the same size as the bin at home) which will be located in a central recycling area. This waste will then be collected on a weekly basis and delivered to a paper mill in Greetland where it will begin its journey back into paper. This initiative offers efficiencies to the University as the paper waste is significantly cheaper to recycle.

New waste stream for chewing gum

As you know chewing gum creates a problem for the University and cleaning it up is a nightmare for the Campus Support team. As from the end of April you will see GumDrop collection points strategically placed across campus. These look like cute pink balls and are hung in strategic areas and you just pop your chewing gum in the ball and when its full it goes back to the GumDrop company to be made into wellies, lunchboxes etc.

As you can see there is lots happening with waste at the University and we look forward to getting round to see you to discuss the initiatives and how we can work together to reduce waste and make efficiencies.

If you need to find out more about any of the above initiatives or want to find out more, please don’t hesitate to contact Allan Butters.