New waste management contract sees recycling rates triple at Staffordshire University.
In the first month of the partnership, the University recycled three times more waste than the previous month and nearly half of the 49 tonnes of waste produced on site was recycled.
It’s brilliant to see the statistics to back up the changes that we’ve made to waste management at the University. This is only the first phase of the project, and already there’s a huge increase in recycling, reduction in waste going to landfill and drop in our C02 emissions.
Staffordshire University’s new contract with waste management firm Biffa, has helped the University recycle three times more waste at its Stoke-on-Trent campus.
In August 2021, the University started its new waste management contract with Biffa. The aim of this was not only to remove the waste from campus, but to increase the University's recycling rate and ultimately reduce the amount of waste produced on a daily basis.
In the first month of the partnership, the University recycled three times more waste than the previous month and nearly half of the 49 tonnes of waste produced on site was recycled. This reduced the University’s CO2 emissions by 0.4 tonnes in one month.
Since then, the University’s recycling rates have remained consistently high and in November 2021, 42 per cent of waste on site was recycled and almost 53 tonnes of waste was diverted from landfill.
The rise in recycling rates has been made possible by the increase in the number of large recycling bins on campus which are used by staff in the University and Students’ Union venues, as well as by the residents of the University’s ResLife Accommodation. There is now a 50:50 spilt of general waste to mixed recycling bins on campus.
Helen Rutherford, Head of Campus Facilities Management at Staffordshire University, said: “It’s brilliant to see the statistics to back up the changes that we’ve made to waste management at the University. This is only the first phase of the project, and already there’s a huge increase in recycling, reduction in waste going to landfill and drop in our C02 emissions.
“We’ll soon be progressing with stage two of our waste management contract, which includes desktop recyclers for our staff. We’re on a mission to improve our internal recycling, making it easier for everyone to recycle and know what waste goes where.
“We also have lots of exciting campaigns and awareness projects lined up for both students and staff throughout 2022, as we know how important recycling is to our community.”