Waste and Recycling

• Working group established to investigate the feasibility of creating an off-campus resource hub for improving resource management and enabling reuse and recycling of University waste using the most sustainable methods and promoting circular economy
• Continued focus on further reduction of single use plastics - strategy coming soon!
• Enhancing reuse through expansion of the Moving On project - see latest news for amount raised last year beating all records!
• Introduced Gift it Reuse it (GiRi), a flagship initiative that allows students leaving halls of residence (and in fact any student who has unwanted items) to donate unwanted household items to new arrivals
• Developing regular reuse pop-up events e.g. Repair Cafes
• Investigating opportunities for student reuse - see A-Z student guide to recycling.

Visit Warp It Reuse Network. to find out about options for reuse.  Our reuse section will be coming shortly with more details about the circular economy. 

Campus map - find out where you can recycle different items here. 

How to dispose of your waste  

Waste A-Z - from aerosols to wood - common waste types and details on how to recycle or dispose of them. 

What we are doing

• Waste composting - we are working with academics, professionals, industry and manufacturers to investigate the opportunity of introducing in-vessel composting to the South West in order to correctly process compostable packaging.
• A waste tender process is underway which is identifying opportunities for improved segregation and treatment of our waste from suppliers of five of our existing waste streams:
  • Chemical & lab waste
  • Clinical waste
  • WEEE – IT  
  • WEEE – electrical  
  • Paper – confidential & ‘regular’
• Tetrapak recycling scheme introduced
• We are continuing to focus on further reduction of single-use plastics 
• Visit our reuse section to find out more about options for reuse, including the Warp It reuse network

Please see our new Circular Economy & Sustainable Resource Management Strategy 2024-2030

The Sustainable Bought Goods & Services Policy and The Responsible Procurement Checklist enable environmental and sustainable considerations in the purchase of all bought goods and services, including consideration on whether existing assets can be reused or shared. 

Ideally, the university would prefer for our Warp It reuse platform to be utilised for the transfer of goods, either internally, or externally to our network of charitable partners. For staff wishing to transfer assets (with the support and authorisation of a Director) to external organisations who may not be able or willing to sign up to Warp It (free to charities, charitable organisations, schools, hospitals etc) the Equipment Transfer Agreement must be completed in full and a copy of the completed form submitted to the sustainability team.

If items are to be sold at a cost to the recipient please refer to theSale and Donation of Redundant / Surplus Assets for guidance.