Current Students and Staff

This week is WRAP’s Recycle Week – a campaign designed to highlight the increasing coverage in the media about the major global environmental issues we are facing.

In recent years, more and more people are becoming aware of the everyday initiatives they can do to help, such as recycling properly, avoiding fast fashion and sourcing other alternatives to single-use materials.

Loughborough University’s Environmental Manager Nik Hunt shares his thoughts below on how both staff and students can do their part to this call to action:

When it comes to waste, we should be thinking of the Waste Hierarchy first and foremost. It’s easy to consider whether an item is recyclable or not, but we should actually be considering alternative steps before jumping to this conclusion:

• Reduce – As a starting point, we should be considering reducing the amount of waste we produce. For example, is it necessary to print out emails, use a disposable coffee cup or buy the latest fashion trend?
• Reuse – Instead of throwing out items you no longer want or need, could you consider selling, donating or turning it into something else instead? There are numerous websites and apps available for you to conveniently sell your unwanted things and plenty of charities calling out for specific items too. Or, why not bring out your creative side and turn your clothes and furniture into something brand new!
• Repair – It might not be the easiest or cheapest option, but repairing or upcycling an item could help you fall in love with it all over again. For example, instead of buying a new pair of shoes every winter, invest in a good pair which you can get repaired at your local cobblers when needed.
• Recycling – If you are unable to do one of the above, recycling is still a key part of the Waste Hierarchy. Around 75% of the University’s waste is now recycled, but make sure you get an understanding of which items can be recycled. More information on this can be found further down in this article.
• Recover – Using energy from incineration as an alternative to fossil fuels. There are objections to this method, but it does avoid the problem of landfill.
• Dispose/ Landfill – For waste which cannot be solved using one of the methods above.  

Handy tips for Recycling

• If a plastic product or plastic packaging has a code of 1-6 labelled on it, it can be recycled
• Almost all paper and paper-based products can be recycled
• Tins and cans can also all be recycled
• Nearly all cardboard products can be recycled too

It is important that all plastics, tins and cans are washed or rinsed out so that they are clean and less likely to contaminate other recycled products. Food waste is a common contaminant of recycling, so please use the food segregation bins when appropriate.

There are also some common, everyday items that some people believe can be recycled when actually they cannot. These include:

• Paper towels, tissues and kitchen roll
• Coffee cups and cardboard sandwich cartons (unless disposed of using the specialist coffee cup or sandwich carton bins around campus)
• Any mixed materials which have not been separated (eg a mix of cardboard and metal, such as a Pringles tube)
• Crisp packets (although some organisations benefit from collecting these, such as the RNIB)
• Confectionary wrappers
• Takeaway food boxes (a mixture of cardboard and plastic, and also contaminated with food)

For any further queries regarding the Waste Hierarchy, please email waste@lboro.ac.uk.